Warring States: World in 1550 (alt)
This timeline deviates from actual history sometime in the 1500’s, due largely to two factors: a weak, inward-looking Europe, and a strong, stable Ming Empire. Europe’s condition is due to the success of the Ottoman Empire against Spain in the Mediterranean, and the effects of a plague sweeping across Europe in 1540’s. In actual history, Spain was able to hold the Ottomans at bay, and the Age of Colonization proceeded apace. Enormous trade networks were established, and the world briefly fell under the guns and influence of Europe. In this timeline, the Age of Colonization got started, but was aborted completely by 1550. This is the state of changes in 1550 (alt):
Europe: In 1550, Europe is poor, war-torn, and suffers from a plague similar to the Black Death of two centuries past. Central Europe and the former Holy Roman Empire are broken into dozens of squabbling principalities and duchies, divided between Catholic and Protestant factions. Large areas of central Europe are devoid of inhabitants. Europe in 1550 is a desolate place indeed. France is now the center of Roman Catholicism, and one of the last large continental powers. France has managed to maintain its borders against the Ottomans, thanks to a strong line of fortifications along the Pyrenees. Unfortunately, it is crowded with refugees from Italy and Spain, and the Mediterranean coast is the subject of constant Ottoman raids. England is isolated from Europe under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but is having to deal with the plagues nonetheless.
Southern Europe and the Mediterranean: In 1541, the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V was killed in a naval battle against the Ottoman Turks, ruled by the formidable Suleiman the Great. They were also able to extend their power along the entire coast of North Africa. Buoyed by their success and now masters of the Mediterranean, the Ottomans launched an assault against the Iberian Peninsula and against Austria simultaneously. Vienna fell in 1547, and most of the Iberian Peninsula was under Ottoman control by 1547, including Portugal and almost all of Spain. Italy remains divided among conquered areas and a few fortified holdouts. Unable to guarantee the safety of Italy, the Papal See was relocated to Toulouse, France. The Ottoman assaults stalled out over the Pyrenees, and by 1550 things had settled down to stable borders.
Spanish Colonies in the New World: The vast Spanish possessions in Central and South America have been essentially on their own since 1545, when the bulk of Spanish military assets were withdrawn to fight against the Ottomans. Nevertheless, by the 1540’s, most of the great native empires had already been smashed. The Spanish retain a strong presence on Hispaniola and Cuba, but the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru have largely collapsed into rump states centered on the regions around Mexico City and Lima, as well numerous small fortified settlements built around European style castles. The Maya states remain strongly independent, but in the power vacuums left by Spanish withdrawals, various small native states are establishing themselves utilizing newly acquired military technology.
Portuguese Colonies in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia: Portugal’s efforts were more focused on trade with existing states in the region, such as China. As a result, they were badly traumatized by the collapse of European trade. Many of the smaller trading colonies were overrun or abandoned, though a few notable exceptions exist. The colony on Goa absorbed the population of the Malabar Coast in India, and remains a small but powerful player in Indian regional politics. The other major colony is Malacca. Nearly all of the Portuguese traders and soldiers in the region eventually made their way to Malacca, and it is now an independent principality, ruled by the Portuguese. Like Goa, it is a major player in the politics of the Indies, despite its small size. Interestingly enough, Goa and Malacca have a running conflict over who is the rightful representative of the Portuguese cause. Official Goa can claim this, but Malacca is a more successful colony.
Ming China: The Ming underwent a decline in the 1400’s, but not so drastically. In the 1530’s and 1540’s, the Mongols were conquered. The current emperor is Bai Lung, a military oriented man more similar to the early Ming emperors than in his immediate predecessors. The Ming have a very large army, though most of it is tied up campaigning in Mongolia and in Southeast Asia. The Ming navy is built around a few very large warships intended to overawe China’s neighbors. In reality, they are somewhat primitive compared to the more nimble Portuguese warships. Ming China is the dominant power in East Asia, and regards all of its neighbors as tributary states. It is known that the Ming managed to travel to North America in the 1400’s (a la Gavin Menzies theories) , but few details are known to the world at large.