Rise of the East

In our world, the nations of western Europe arise from the darkness of the Medieval Age and rose to political, economic, and cultural prominence from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Various historical events are the cause of the rise, the most important being the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. Today, the West remains the heart of world power, from Los Angeles to Berlin.

But what if these events occured in the Eastern World (China, Japan, and the Pacific) instead of western Europe? What if the Ming Golden Age lasted into the 17th century? What if the philosophical currents we call liberalism, capitalism, and humanism arose in Asia? What if Industrialization occured in Japan, before Europe? Welcome to a world where the greater Eastern world (including the Americas) is the center of world power.

Points of Divergence

 * 1281 The typhoon that prevented the Mongol invasion of Japan in 1281 never happens, and the Mongols successfully conquer Japan.
 * 1424 Zheng He's explorations on account of the Ming Dynasty don't end, but instead are accelerated.
 * 1460 The printing press is invented in Wuhan, China.
 * 1529 Vienna falls to the Ottoman Empire after months being under siege.

Asia/Xindalu
The Inca Empire rises to prominence in Xindalu

Zheng He, under the direction of Ming emperor Yong Le, explores India, the Middle-West, Africa, and Xindalu. Ming territory reaches a pinnacle. Chinese explorations lead to the first Asian sightings of Xindalu and the sea passage along the Cape of Good Hope to West Africa, in the last deacde of the century. After these first sightings by Asians, transportation increased between Asia and Xindalu. Native cultures that lived in Xindalu had already developed advanced civilizations that attest to thousands of years of human presence: sophisticated engineering, irrigation, agriculture, religion, and government.

The Mongol-derived Gyeong Dynasty is overthrown by uprising in Japan, led by Ashikaga Yoshimasa. He establishes a new dynasty, named after him.

After the death of Zheng He, China continues to explore the world's seas and opens world-wide oceanic trade routes. Large parts of the New World became Chinese colonies, China became the master of the Indian Ocean trade, and China opened trade across the Atlantic Ocean, linking Xindalu with Europe.

The Scientific Revolution begins in China. The heliocentric solar system becomes widely accepted, which would later lead to further scientific achievements.

India and the Middle-West

Tamerlane establishes a major empire in the Middle-West and Central Asia, an attempt to revive the Mongol Empire.

Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great extended the power of the Mughal Empire to cover most of the Indian subcontinent.

Europe
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, falls to the emerging Ottoman Turks, cutting off Europe's land trade with the East. Within the century, the Ottomans conquer most of Eastern Europe, as Vienna falls in 1529.

The Papacy is split in two parts in Europe for decades, under the Council of Constance.

In Europe, the Protestant Reformation gave a major blow to the authority of the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. European politics became dominated by religous conflict, as the western camp became divided in the face of the Ottoman threat.