Great Britain & Allies
Commonwealth of Great Britain
In the Gaslight Empires timeline, William Pitt did not die as quickly, and since he was in better health, postponed his appointment as a Lord. This gave him the political clout with the lower classes to work out a peaceful arrangement with the American Colonies. Because of this, the war that had been simmering was dissipated, and the Commonwealth was born, giving any colonies who passed a referendum equal representation in London in the House of Commons, and each Governor or regional administrator a seat in the House of Lords.
Shortly thereafter the Abolition of Slavery Act was passed, and slavery became illegal. After a ten-year civil war, with the proponents of slavery being put down in all areas but South Africa, the Civil Liberties and Fair Treatment Act was passed, which gave the newly freed members of the Commonwealth, along was all native colonials, the same rights as natural-born Britons.
This also set to rest many of the other issues plaguing the previous Empire, and the Commonwealth remained strong enough to fight the newly created Holy Union to a standstill, even gaining some new territory, albeit at a loss of others. In the peace accords ofter the Great War, Britain gave up its rights to territories in Africa, while the Holy Union gave up its rights to portions of Northern Mexico and California.
Empire of BrazilShortly following the formation of the Holy Union, the two kings set their sights on the small kingdom of Portugal and its many holdings. Alerted at the last minute, the royal family, along with most of the upper-class, managed to escape, and following a brief naval engagement near the Azores, arrived in Brazil. There they set up a government in exile, but it soon became clear that they could never return.
While the Empire of Brazil still holds claim to Portugal, they have since set into administering the affairs of their new homeland. Many Portuguese who were mistreated by the new regime also fled, and settled throughout its colonies.
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German FederationThe many German states saw the consolidation of France and Spain, and their hunger for gobbling up their neighbors, and quickly formed a loose federation of states. Whole each state keeps their own sovereignty, they field a combined military, and a centrally administered fiscal policy to which all states are required to adhere.
While some states are not exactly happy with this arrangement, the alternative is worse, so for the most parts there are no complaints. With the addition of the Low Countries into the Federation, the federated states now have several overseas holdings in Africa and the Western Pacific.
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Ottoman CaliphateWith a weaker Rus, bullied by Japan, and with both the British and the Franco-Spaniards busy elsewhere, the Ottoman Empire has been able to consolidate most of its holdings. In addition, lately the British has been lending financial aid, which has strengthened the Caliphate.
As a result, while the Ottomans are not a major power upon the world scene, they are still to be reckoned with. This will likely only grow once the Suez Canal is finished with British aid.
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Holy Union & Allies
Holy Union of Spain & France
Feeling threatened by the burgeoning British Commonwealth, Spain and France entered into a personal union, bringing their ruling families together into one, the daughter of the union becoming the first Holy Empress. Shortly after it's creation, they set themselves against Portugal, and took them in a lightning-swift invasion.
Italy was next to fall, although it held out briefly before capitulating. Many scholars of the time felt that Italy's resistance was just a token gesture however, as the Church saw this as a new Holy Roman Empire
Once their power base was consolidated, they set out to topple the British Commonwealth, but in this they were thwarted, losing holdings in North America but gaining small pieces of Africa, where the British still had residual colonies.
Mongolian KhanateAfter the assassination of Genghis Khan, the expansion of the Mongols stopped. This was seen at the time as a great curse, but in reality, stopping the expansion and settling down to administer their current holdings actually helped to consolidate their strength, and the Golden Horde was never splintered.
While the Khanate has been relatively inactive and unimportant on the world stage since, it has nearly kept pace with advancing technology, and seems to be strong and at peace, able to protect itself from its neighbors.
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South African Free StateShortly thereafter the Abolition of Slavery Act was passed in the British Commonwealth a civil war erupted, lasting ten years. At the end of the war, proponents of slavery were defeated, with one exception. In South Africa, the ironically-named Free State was formed. Many suspected Holy Union backing of the rebels, but nothing was ever proven.
The Free State was a major supplier of slaves up until the slavery reforms of the Holy Union nearly closed their market. Slavery is still technically legal in the Free State, although now they are more commonly referred to as indentured workers.
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Neutral Nations
Empire of JapanJapan was woken out of isolation by the British Royal Navy. Almost immediately, the Japanese embraced as much modern technology as they could handle, and set out to bring it to others by force.
They grabbed huge swathes of former Chinese and Russian lands in the west, and set up huge mining outposts there. In the east, they began to settle extensively on the northwestern coast of North America.
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Kalmar UnionThe Kalmar Union was reborn out of a need for security against the saber rattling of Russia, and the threat of the Holy Union. It is an uneasy alliance at best, but with the birth of a son to Queen Christine and King Eric, it seems to be becoming more permanent.
Kalmar has never been aggressive, or expansionist, seemingly content with the several colonies they hold in the North Atlantic and the Western Pacific.
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Republic of ChinaAfter the assassination of Genghis Khan, China was able to make some small gains back into the regions that Mongolia invaded. However, it was never able to make major inroads owing to the continued presence of Mongolian military strength in the area. On a second front, they were forced to fight Japan at the same time, and in doing so lost both battles.
Typical of the Chinese, they still plan for the long game. Their future plans include regaining all their lost territory, but for now they are forced to sit and wait.
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Tsardom of RusWhile Rus was able to expand eastward, as in the normal timeline, it was not permanent. As Mongolia invaded, and then again as Japan awoke and began to push westward, Russia's expansion was halted and then turned back by both Japan and Mongolia.
Because of the loss of vast mineral and ore tracts in the east, Rus is not the powerhouse it once was. On the other hand, without a Cold War to drain their resources, they are quite comfortable in their space.
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