Alternate History (Principia Moderni III Map Game)

Alternate history, also known as alternative history, sometimes abbreviated AH, is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which one or more historical events unfolds differently from how it did in reality. It can be variously seen as a subgenre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate history works may use tropes from any or all of these genres. Becoming popular in the late twentieth century, numerous novels and other works have been produced exploring different topics within the genre.

What If? Essays
What If? Is a collection of essays by eminent historians prospecting over how history may have diverged due to a change in time. It was published by Rupert Cohen in 1999.

Michael Stirling
Michael Stirling is a British author best known for his alternate history scenarios. Stirling's 1993 novel, Short Visits to Different Worlds was acclaimed as one of the genre's first major works, and included such scenarios as:


 * Without Westminster - Focusing on a world where the Treaty of Westminster is never signed, and the Empire of Hispania is greatly weakened. The War of the Grand Coalition never happens, and instead the balance of power in Europe fluctuates between many different nations throughout the modern period.
 * Henry IV, son of John of Gaunt, doesn’t die heirless. Instead he is succeeded by his son as Henry V, leading to civil war between the so called “House of Lancaster” and the OTL ruling family, the House of York, led by Edward III.
 * The Acts of Union of 1425, which in OTL sought to unify the nations of England (and Wales), and the Irish states of Munster and Ulster with the English Royal Crown Dependency of Dublin, are stalled due to the civil war. The civil war also prevents the vassalization of Scotland by the English, and the spread of the Western Church.
 * The Norman Rebellions end in a Roman Catholic victory at the Battle of South Hampton, leading to the widespread suppression of the Western Church.
 * The nations of Munster and Ulster form the Kingdom of Eire, independent of the Kingdom of England, now unified under the Yorkist claimant to the throne.
 * The North Sea Trade Alliance (NSTA) is never founded, due in part to weaker relations with Prussia, the Netherlands, and other OTL allies.
 * The Treaty of Westminster is never signed. War would break out between France and England throughout the late fifteenth century, leading to the loss of English Calais, Guyenne, and all other continental possessions, as well as French vassalization of the Duchy of Brittany.
 * Habsburg Empire - Discusses the possibility of a strong Habsburg alliance between nations such as Austria and Spain, leading to Austria’s continued growth in Europe. Austria is never fully defeated, and goes on to dominate German politics.
 * Great Rhineland War - Discusses the possibility of a Second “Grand Coalition” following the fall of Spain, this time targeting the Empire of France, which managed to seize control over a vast empire in the wake of Hispania’s collapse. Leopold II von Habsburg, King of Westphalia, Lombardy, and the Netherlands emerges as the dominant force in central Europe, after defeating the French and uniting his empire in the Rhineland. Although Austria had fallen to Bavaria and Croatia much earlier, Leopold’s gamble leads to Habsburg dominance once more, and the eventual unification of Germany under Habsburg rule.