Byzantine Empire (Land of Opportunity Map Game)

History:
The history up until the point of divergence (1501) is identical to the OTL history. For those interested, you can find it here.

In 1501, the people of Greece and most of Anatolia revolted. They were led by the popular Venetian-Greek nobleman, Julius Capuletto. They managed to secure the independance from the Ottoman Empire, siezing the coast of Anatolia and all of Greece except for a small strip on its west coast, which was owned by the Ottoman Empire. They spent two years securing their holdings and stablizing the reformed empire, before sending several ships to colonize north-eastern OTL Brazil. A program was also begun to reform the education system and boost the apalling level of literacy. The colony in OTL Brazil embarked on a planting project, cutting trees down, digging irrigation trenches, and sowing seeds. Unfortunately, back in the capital, the economy crashed. What banks there were had been stressed for quite a while due to the war and all the expenses that entailed, and this year was the straw that broke the camel's back. The banks collapsed. This wasn't that bad on its own, as very few people had their money in banks, but rioting broke out. The largest area of rioting was positioned next to the harbor, and the mob flowed over into it. The docks were closed for three months, while the rioters were brought under control and the docks repaired. The docks, however, were Constantinople's main source of income, and, as the imperial treasury was very thin, the closing of them proved disastorous. Large sections of the army were forced to disband for several months, due to a lack of money for salaries, and the Empire was unable temporarily to pay war debts. This situation was fairly quickly resolved, though it brought the terrible situation of the Empire's economy into public light. The governments focus was shifted from education to the economy, and the trade fleet was built up. In a bid to raise the imperial treasury, the Crimean peninsula was sold to Piedmond-Sardinia in exchange for money, military access, and ships.

This page is under construction. More will come.