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Description

The Other Steampunk:
This is a vaguely steampunk scenario based on the trends of the early half of the 19th Century. In this world the energy and radicalism that preceded the Industrial Revolution persisted despite never actually tipping over into proper industrialisation. Coal and steam did rise in importance but not in the same manner as OTL. Instead water wheels and wind power remained at least as prominent as the new energy sources and a world reaching the apex of colonialism and modernised imperialism continued on seeking the same resources that had been fought over for several centuries already, many of which are agrarian.

By 2017 the world has been, more or less, divided three ways between the two prevailing ideologies that have evolved and solidified over the past two centuries: The Imperialists and the Hierarchists.

Whilst it doesn’t exactly ‘rule the waves’ Britain is the leading major power and the dominant force of the Imperialist bloc. With plentiful water and coal (the wood reserves were depleted very quickly and the reforesting is still insufficient to meet demands for power) the British are also one of the centres of industrialisation. Mills are everywhere, dominating the Thames, Severn and Humber as well as every other river of size in the country. Massive water-driven industrial complexes dominate the economy along with the huge dockyards that ship everything Britain produces out to the world – with the newer steam powered ones also popping up nearby, where the canals can supply them. By this point London is no longer a viable port and the Thames is being dredged and artificially deepened to accommodate the huge sail and steam powered ships that make up Britain’s immense mercantile fleet.

Britain’s empire is still one of the single most powerful on Earth but it is dependent on the Royal Navy and the decentralisation of some of its territories – especially the Royal Companies – is working against it. Currently the general policy for the indigenous people of their colonies is to assimilate the traditional upper classes, at least, and work on ‘civilising’ the rest over time. Sepoys, now a term for colonial soldiers in general, are a common sight across the empire and now outnumber actual British troops in the Royal navy and other armed forces. Some factories and mills are starting to be built in the rest of the empire but the UK still dominates the empire’s industry and the colonies primarily provide raw resources.

The East India Company is still going strong but only just. By this point most of its efforts are focused on keeping control of their various dependencies and protectorates on the subcontinent and in the West Pacific. The possible dissolution of the company and annexation of its territory and assets has been discussed for over a century now with the EIC rallying whatever influence it can to delay talks for a few more years. At the very least the company’s interests in China remain drugged and more or less complacent. Just as with the rest of the empire, the EIC has also begun to incorporate new ‘colonial’ executives as enterprising Indians, Malays and Chinese rise up the ranks.

France, now a close British ally after the instability it has suffered for nearly a century(and a short civil war of sorts), is divided between the Orleanists and the remnants of the Bourbon Legitimists.

Orleanist France is dedicated to being a ‘modernised’ constitutional monarchy and has been building up its industrial base for decades. By this point the Seine is as developed as the Thames and French industrialists have been trying to expand influence in the German Confederation in order to gain access to the Rhine. The Orleanist Bourbons still have a lot of influence but have worked to distance themselves from their Legitimist relatives and honour the parliament. The monarchy dos till make some decisions and exercise a little power but the elected government holds most authority these days. Unlike Britain, however, the French have yet to begin properly assimilating and incorporating the indigenous people of their colonies and maintain the traditional boundaries between the colonial governments and the local people.

Legitimist Bourbon France managed to rally in the south-east and finally carved out a separate state at the end of the French Bourbon Civil War. Bourbon Provence has set itself up at the centre of a Bourbon reactionary alliance, supporting more absolutist policies and regimes and has the support of their relatives in Naples and the Carlists in Spain. Less of an influence than their Orleanist relatives, the Legitimists are still a part of the Imperialist bloc.

Most of Europe is under Imperialist control, even if only tangentially. Austria is the primary bulwark and is the primary representative of neo-absolutism on the continent. Their empire still suffers from radical and nationalist unrest but a series of ruthless chancellors and a few reformist, ‘enlightened’ emperors have ensured that Austria’s empire remains whole and powerful. Their political repression, monarchical absolutism and the rivalry with France for influence over the German Confederation has built a bit of a schism between the Imperialists in Western and Eastern Europe but the bloc remains whole, especially with the rise of Russia.

The Ottomans are tentative allies of the Imperialist bloc. Bad blood keeps the empire from joining up directly but they are increasingly tied to the major Imperialist powers through trade. The fact that the majority of the government are now made up of white (and Armenian) Christians from their empire is largely responsible for this political shift but that has, in turn, begun to destabilise the empire as the Muslim population has begun to notice and formed reactionary groups.

The United States of America is the leading power of the Hierarchists, states built upon the segregation and exploitation – and, more often than not, enslavement – of portions of their population. Despite some gripes between the north and south, the United States has remained whole, relatively decentralised and quite powerful. Though they have a large industrial base much of their economy is still agrarian, sheer volume allowing them to keep up with the more industrially dynamic and mercantilist established British. The north does have considerable water-driven industry of its own but the immense rivers remain sparsely exploited, mainly being irrigated to water the vast, slave-operated plantations.

Slavery in the United States is still very extensive, especially since the slave trade was reignited by the arrival of the traditional slaver states in their bloc. Poorer plantations, usually those in the interior away from the coasts, often have to breed their existing slaves or buy them from the larger establishments whilst the larger coastal plantations get the pick of the new slaves being imported from West and East Africa. Despite the extensiveness of slavery it is still rather informal, with free blacks allowed to own their plantations (and there are quite a few these days) and slave escapees that make it to the pro-abolitionist northern states essentially being free of extradition back to their masters. The north, whilst slave-free and abolitionist, is unconcerned with the practises going on in the southern states and focuses on their own industrialisation.

America’s closest ally is the Empire of Brazil, another major slave owning state. The Brazilians, whilst substantial and powerful are still weaker and much less developed than the United States. The plantation owning aristocracy rule over most of the nation and have even curtailed the monarchy to a purely symbolic status in order to maintain their power. Blacks make up the majority of the slave population but there is still a substantial Native American slave population as well. At the same time there is much less racial stratification than the USA or most other Hierarchist states. There is a large creole population, many of whom now make up most of the rural ruling classes (most white people are now found in the cities) as well as a large number of free black landowners. They are trying to breed whiteness into their families though and get lighter in hue with every generation.

The Hierarchists intervened in Africa when the abolitionists began to dismantle the slaver states on the coasts and gained both new allies and a continued source of slaves for doing so. These states are still heavily reliant on American and Brazilian support to remain free of Imperialist intervention – not the Imperialists want to make the locals too independent minded or they might start giving other people ideas.

Outside of this long established struggle is the Empire of Russia. Finding no real connection with either faction – and often stifled by them in many ways – the Russians have gone down their own path. Russia is now a behemoth looking to devour more land in its quest for more resources and political clout on the world stage.

Russia remains an absolute monarchy but has been changing a little, transitioning into a sort of oligarchic military state with the military aristocracy holding more and more actual power on behalf of the tsar. The tsars have been heavily involved with the military for well over a decade now and have supported the use of military organisation to reform the empire and develop it. The new cities are densely packed and tightly organised settlements with clearly marked out districts for certain classes of people. Brand new mills have been built along the major rivers of Russia – and the Aral Sea’s water powered industrial districts are quite massive.

Now that they’re becoming a true challenger to the other established empires, the Russians are being seen as a threat. The current tsar is a bit of a visionary and believes that now is the time to see his forefathers’ dreams of a Russia that dominates Eurasia come true. With their new, modernised army, their expanded industrial base and their assimilation programs for their imperial subjects, the Russians are the equal of the other Imperialist and Hierarchist powers and ready to expand and Britain, with their colonial investments in both India and China, are the most concerned with Russian expansionism.

Despite the revolutionary upheavals and the continued threat of radicals, this is a world of colourful decadence. Fashion is elaborate, extensive and often a literally heavy burden for the wearer. Hair is big, as are women’s dresses, clothing is colourful and quite tight and elaborate accessories and decorations are draped all over people. Of course this is only really available to the rich but the growing middle classes are either spending a lot to keep up or producing more affordable alternatives in order to keep up with the fashion trends. The immense amounts of exotic animal products needed for clothing, accessories and other personal items is beginning to drive certain animals closer and closer to extinction, as are massive hunting expeditions in the colonial territories of the major powers. Conservationist groups wanting to preserve wilderness and encourage animal breeding are now being formed by fashion moguls and hunting enthusiasts who want to ensure populations are high enough to continue exploiting them.

This world is one of class systems, hierarchy and elitism but the spectre of revolution still lingers in this world. Radical groups exist across Europe, often some flavour of anarchist since republicanism has had a lot of its credibility ruined as an ideology to many people; the major republic of this world being a Hierarchist slaver state didn’t help. Nationalist groups are also major problems in Italy, the German Confederation and the Austrian Empire and have periodically risen up here and there in those regions before being suppressed again. For the most part, however, this is still a world where most people are lorded over by their ‘betters’ and social mobility, whilst easier than it has ever been in history, simply leads to the ‘new money’ adopting the habits and attitudes of the old aristocracy.

Technologically this world is a little odd. Water is still a popular power source with massive water-wheel driven mills producing products for the world and immense canals criss-crossing large portions of the planet – some of which bore through the landscape and even run under mountains in massive tunnels. Huge barges pole their way back and forth, a few now being driven by steam and coal; moving cargo around the planet. Sophisticated clipper ships cross the seas as well, the militaries of the world being the only ones who really possess steam ships. Mines assisted by steam engine driven pumps are finally replacing the older shafts around the world, opening up the true value of coal to the world.

Flight was achieved long ago when hot-air balloons were given special light-weight engines and airships became more sophisticated. Elegant leviathans slowly float through the air, complex gondolas covering most of the body and balloon of the airship, carrying cargo people and, on occasion, weaponry around the world. Rockets are available for those who want a faster travel, both in the form of actual cylindrical craft and rocket powered gliders and kites. Many models have been weaponised and can reach very large size and high explosive power but newer versions can now carry people and cargo at high speed across oceans. Steam horses, bizarre, clanking, clattering, quadrupedal metallic automatons, pull carts and carriages and carry people overland at high speed and have even been taken to war, pulling artillery and carrying soldiers into combat. Steam elephants have been developed as siege weaponry (and strong cargo carriers, of course) and have also been adapted for open combat, wading into battle and breaking defensive lines as bullets and all but the largest artillery shells bounce off of their armoured hulls. Some steam elephants have even been adapted to carry medium sized field guns on their backs, providing a relatively speedy mobile firing platform.

Space is still beyond the abilities of much of the world but this is about to change. Airtight submersibles have finally been perfected – often taking the form of huge, ovoid structures that look like metallic airships balloons – and now that same principle is being applied to the chemical air rockets of the world. Britain, the biggest pioneer of air travel, intends to launch a rocket into the stars and possibly beyond.

Description

The Other Steampunk:
This is a vaguely steampunk scenario based on the trends of the early half of the 19th Century. In this world the energy and radicalism that preceded the Industrial Revolution persisted despite never actually tipping over into proper industrialisation. Coal and steam did rise in importance but not in the same manner as OTL. Instead water wheels and wind power remained at least as prominent as the new energy sources and a world reaching the apex of colonialism and modernised imperialism continued on seeking the same resources that had been fought over for several centuries already, many of which are agrarian.

By 2017 the world has been, more or less, divided three ways between the two prevailing ideologies that have evolved and solidified over the past two centuries: The Imperialists and the Hierarchists.

Whilst it doesn’t exactly ‘rule the waves’ Britain is the leading major power and the dominant force of the Imperialist bloc. With plentiful water and coal (the wood reserves were depleted very quickly and the reforesting is still insufficient to meet demands for power) the British are also one of the centres of industrialisation. Mills are everywhere, dominating the Thames, Severn and Humber as well as every other river of size in the country. Massive water-driven industrial complexes dominate the economy along with the huge dockyards that ship everything Britain produces out to the world – with the newer steam powered ones also popping up nearby, where the canals can supply them. By this point London is no longer a viable port and the Thames is being dredged and artificially deepened to accommodate the huge sail and steam powered ships that make up Britain’s immense mercantile fleet.

Britain’s empire is still one of the single most powerful on Earth but it is dependent on the Royal Navy and the decentralisation of some of its territories – especially the Royal Companies – is working against it. Currently the general policy for the indigenous people of their colonies is to assimilate the traditional upper classes, at least, and work on ‘civilising’ the rest over time. Sepoys, now a term for colonial soldiers in general, are a common sight across the empire and now outnumber actual British troops in the Royal navy and other armed forces. Some factories and mills are starting to be built in the rest of the empire but the UK still dominates the empire’s industry and the colonies primarily provide raw resources.

The East India Company is still going strong but only just. By this point most of its efforts are focused on keeping control of their various dependencies and protectorates on the subcontinent and in the West Pacific. The possible dissolution of the company and annexation of its territory and assets has been discussed for over a century now with the EIC rallying whatever influence it can to delay talks for a few more years. At the very least the company’s interests in China remain drugged and more or less complacent. Just as with the rest of the empire, the EIC has also begun to incorporate new ‘colonial’ executives as enterprising Indians, Malays and Chinese rise up the ranks.

France, now a close British ally after the instability it has suffered for nearly a century(and a short civil war of sorts), is divided between the Orleanists and the remnants of the Bourbon Legitimists.

Orleanist France is dedicated to being a ‘modernised’ constitutional monarchy and has been building up its industrial base for decades. By this point the Seine is as developed as the Thames and French industrialists have been trying to expand influence in the German Confederation in order to gain access to the Rhine. The Orleanist Bourbons still have a lot of influence but have worked to distance themselves from their Legitimist relatives and honour the parliament. The monarchy dos till make some decisions and exercise a little power but the elected government holds most authority these days. Unlike Britain, however, the French have yet to begin properly assimilating and incorporating the indigenous people of their colonies and maintain the traditional boundaries between the colonial governments and the local people.

Legitimist Bourbon France managed to rally in the south-east and finally carved out a separate state at the end of the French Bourbon Civil War. Bourbon Provence has set itself up at the centre of a Bourbon reactionary alliance, supporting more absolutist policies and regimes and has the support of their relatives in Naples and the Carlists in Spain. Less of an influence than their Orleanist relatives, the Legitimists are still a part of the Imperialist bloc.

Most of Europe is under Imperialist control, even if only tangentially. Austria is the primary bulwark and is the primary representative of neo-absolutism on the continent. Their empire still suffers from radical and nationalist unrest but a series of ruthless chancellors and a few reformist, ‘enlightened’ emperors have ensured that Austria’s empire remains whole and powerful. Their political repression, monarchical absolutism and the rivalry with France for influence over the German Confederation has built a bit of a schism between the Imperialists in Western and Eastern Europe but the bloc remains whole, especially with the rise of Russia.

The Ottomans are tentative allies of the Imperialist bloc. Bad blood keeps the empire from joining up directly but they are increasingly tied to the major Imperialist powers through trade. The fact that the majority of the government are now made up of white (and Armenian) Christians from their empire is largely responsible for this political shift but that has, in turn, begun to destabilise the empire as the Muslim population has begun to notice and formed reactionary groups.

The United States of America is the leading power of the Hierarchists, states built upon the segregation and exploitation – and, more often than not, enslavement – of portions of their population. Despite some gripes between the north and south, the United States has remained whole, relatively decentralised and quite powerful. Though they have a large industrial base much of their economy is still agrarian, sheer volume allowing them to keep up with the more industrially dynamic and mercantilist established British. The north does have considerable water-driven industry of its own but the immense rivers remain sparsely exploited, mainly being irrigated to water the vast, slave-operated plantations.

Slavery in the United States is still very extensive, especially since the slave trade was reignited by the arrival of the traditional slaver states in their bloc. Poorer plantations, usually those in the interior away from the coasts, often have to breed their existing slaves or buy them from the larger establishments whilst the larger coastal plantations get the pick of the new slaves being imported from West and East Africa. Despite the extensiveness of slavery it is still rather informal, with free blacks allowed to own their plantations (and there are quite a few these days) and slave escapees that make it to the pro-abolitionist northern states essentially being free of extradition back to their masters. The north, whilst slave-free and abolitionist, is unconcerned with the practises going on in the southern states and focuses on their own industrialisation.

America’s closest ally is the Empire of Brazil, another major slave owning state. The Brazilians, whilst substantial and powerful are still weaker and much less developed than the United States. The plantation owning aristocracy rule over most of the nation and have even curtailed the monarchy to a purely symbolic status in order to maintain their power. Blacks make up the majority of the slave population but there is still a substantial Native American slave population as well. At the same time there is much less racial stratification than the USA or most other Hierarchist states. There is a large creole population, many of whom now make up most of the rural ruling classes (most white people are now found in the cities) as well as a large number of free black landowners. They are trying to breed whiteness into their families though and get lighter in hue with every generation.

The Hierarchists intervened in Africa when the abolitionists began to dismantle the slaver states on the coasts and gained both new allies and a continued source of slaves for doing so. These states are still heavily reliant on American and Brazilian support to remain free of Imperialist intervention – not the Imperialists want to make the locals too independent minded or they might start giving other people ideas.

Outside of this long established struggle is the Empire of Russia. Finding no real connection with either faction – and often stifled by them in many ways – the Russians have gone down their own path. Russia is now a behemoth looking to devour more land in its quest for more resources and political clout on the world stage.

Russia remains an absolute monarchy but has been changing a little, transitioning into a sort of oligarchic military state with the military aristocracy holding more and more actual power on behalf of the tsar. The tsars have been heavily involved with the military for well over a decade now and have supported the use of military organisation to reform the empire and develop it. The new cities are densely packed and tightly organised settlements with clearly marked out districts for certain classes of people. Brand new mills have been built along the major rivers of Russia – and the Aral Sea’s water powered industrial districts are quite massive.

Now that they’re becoming a true challenger to the other established empires, the Russians are being seen as a threat. The current tsar is a bit of a visionary and believes that now is the time to see his forefathers’ dreams of a Russia that dominates Eurasia come true. With their new, modernised army, their expanded industrial base and their assimilation programs for their imperial subjects, the Russians are the equal of the other Imperialist and Hierarchist powers and ready to expand and Britain, with their colonial investments in both India and China, are the most concerned with Russian expansionism.

Despite the revolutionary upheavals and the continued threat of radicals, this is a world of colourful decadence. Fashion is elaborate, extensive and often a literally heavy burden for the wearer. Hair is big, as are women’s dresses, clothing is colourful and quite tight and elaborate accessories and decorations are draped all over people. Of course this is only really available to the rich but the growing middle classes are either spending a lot to keep up or producing more affordable alternatives in order to keep up with the fashion trends. The immense amounts of exotic animal products needed for clothing, accessories and other personal items is beginning to drive certain animals closer and closer to extinction, as are massive hunting expeditions in the colonial territories of the major powers. Conservationist groups wanting to preserve wilderness and encourage animal breeding are now being formed by fashion moguls and hunting enthusiasts who want to ensure populations are high enough to continue exploiting them.

This world is one of class systems, hierarchy and elitism but the spectre of revolution still lingers in this world. Radical groups exist across Europe, often some flavour of anarchist since republicanism has had a lot of its credibility ruined as an ideology to many people; the major republic of this world being a Hierarchist slaver state didn’t help. Nationalist groups are also major problems in Italy, the German Confederation and the Austrian Empire and have periodically risen up here and there in those regions before being suppressed again. For the most part, however, this is still a world where most people are lorded over by their ‘betters’ and social mobility, whilst easier than it has ever been in history, simply leads to the ‘new money’ adopting the habits and attitudes of the old aristocracy.

Technologically this world is a little odd. Water is still a popular power source with massive water-wheel driven mills producing products for the world and immense canals criss-crossing large portions of the planet – some of which bore through the landscape and even run under mountains in massive tunnels. Huge barges pole their way back and forth, a few now being driven by steam and coal; moving cargo around the planet. Sophisticated clipper ships cross the seas as well, the militaries of the world being the only ones who really possess steam ships. Mines assisted by steam engine driven pumps are finally replacing the older shafts around the world, opening up the true value of coal to the world.

Flight was achieved long ago when hot-air balloons were given special light-weight engines and airships became more sophisticated. Elegant leviathans slowly float through the air, complex gondolas covering most of the body and balloon of the airship, carrying cargo people and, on occasion, weaponry around the world. Rockets are available for those who want a faster travel, both in the form of actual cylindrical craft and rocket powered gliders and kites. Many models have been weaponised and can reach very large size and high explosive power but newer versions can now carry people and cargo at high speed across oceans. Steam horses, bizarre, clanking, clattering, quadrupedal metallic automatons, pull carts and carriages and carry people overland at high speed and have even been taken to war, pulling artillery and carrying soldiers into combat. Steam elephants have been developed as siege weaponry (and strong cargo carriers, of course) and have also been adapted for open combat, wading into battle and breaking defensive lines as bullets and all but the largest artillery shells bounce off of their armoured hulls. Some steam elephants have even been adapted to carry medium sized field guns on their backs, providing a relatively speedy mobile firing platform.

Space is still beyond the abilities of much of the world but this is about to change. Airtight submersibles have finally been perfected – often taking the form of huge, ovoid structures that look like metallic airships balloons – and now that same principle is being applied to the chemical air rockets of the world. Britain, the biggest pioneer of air travel, intends to launch a rocket into the stars and possibly beyond.