Anybody who has even a meager
Interest in history or the past has at one point thought about how the world would be changed today if an event had gone differently
Alternate history is a pretty simple formula
Its history that is altered change *blank* event back in *blank* time
And you good sir, have a potentially fun story scenario and/or video. The topic range is limitless
No really, it is. The issue is how many people are going to care. Some history topics will always be more popular than others
Everybody knows what a World War Two or Civil War is... even Becky
That's why History Channel had so many shows about Hoder in the early 2000s
Everybody knows who Hoder was so it got big ratings but sometimes
I don't want to just talk about Hoder. I want to theorize about less known parts of history.
Throughout 2017, I had so many ideas I wanted to do
But either they were too specific for general audiences or the scenario was just pretty shallow
Much like that week old pizza in your fridge
I don't want these scenarios to go to waste either. This video is frankly a collection of the topics
I had no idea what to do with... Because we both know you wouldn't have clicked on this, otherwise Becky
So I'm sharing them all on this one
Each scenario will be different from the last, so think of them like small little videos
Though here we go... I don't really know how to s e g w a y this
Man has always dared to sail the seas; find new land for our own devices in the modern 20th century
However new land is hard to come by. Now, with the miracle of modern
Engineering we can bring more land to us
For 10 years, this has been the dream of the Atlantropa project. A modern mythical marvel for Europe's future
by placing a few dams,
Man can drain the sea, and bring out hundreds of square miles of coastline along with it.
The Atlantropa project:
Reclaiming our future!
There once was a dream by a single man
An architect named Herman Sorgel. In the 1920s, he imagined a gargantuan project
If successful, It transformed the very face of Europe
What he thought up was an audacious
But ludicrous plan, that he believed could bring peace and stability to a continent
Which had recently lost millions in war
How this would be achieved was by building the largest dams ever devised at both ends of the sea
Controlling the water flowing into the Mediterranean. From there the process would begin
Over a period of a hundred and fifty years, the sea slowly would evaporate and coastline replace it.
A new continent would be born; Atlantropa
A new land consisting of thousands of square miles, once underwater
All this coastline was then to be settled and farmed by Europeans.
The dams that kept the ocean at bay would be hydroelectric, generating enough power to
sustain the entire continent with free, renewable energy
Of course, none of that actually happened
It was just too large of a project with too many unknowns. However,
It's just such a fascinating and odd idea, so let's imagine a timeline where Atlantropa is
actually created. Atlantropa was an idea crafted for a utopian world
A world that existed only in Sorgel's mind and didn't reflect reality
Sorgel thought in terms of grand architecture, big projects
Realistically, Atlantropa could never exist.
Utopias are not the real world. They're impossible fantasies, and so it'd be an impossible project
if Atlantropa was to exist, we need to imagine an
alternate, yet impossible utopian world
Everyone comes together for Sorgel's vision, ignoring the politics and flaws of that time in history. All the issues
engineering and scientific that faced Atlantropa are
Magically solved. All that matters is the reality after his project is created
What world exists afterwards? It is an alternate 1930s. The Depression is in full swing
Unemployment has skyrocketed
For some, inexplicable reason
public interest in Sorgel's idea is
Unnaturally through the roof. The idea of Atlantropa captures the Western imagination
Free energy, millions employed, and new land to settle! In a dark time it's the light at the end of the tunnel
It's oddly peaceful?!
after ten years of building, there isn't another global war. If there was, the cooperation of Europe would end, and
Atlantropa would never be built. For the plan to work Germany's ambitions had to be elsewhere, and the war couldn't happen
I'm not saying that's possible. I'm just saying
Utopia...
Utopia is a strange concept
What is the definition of a perfect world is subjective; it can change?
Atlantropa was Herman Sorgel's utopia. It was a society of culture,
technology, and politics. Its existence required peace in Europe. Free energy for all.
However it also required a world with continuous imperialism. Entire populations would need to be destroyed.
In Central Africa three new seas are created, using the Mediterranean waters. The climate in Africa was meant to be changed
Allowing for future colonization. For Atlantropa to survive, the mindset it was made in, 19th century
Imperialism, needs to survive as well. This is Herman Sorgel's utopia. His perfect world when at last,
sometime in the late 20th century, the dams are finished. The water begins to shrink away as the sea evaporates
There is a major problem. The new land isn't as valuable as hoped. It's not fertile. It's entirely useless
Instead of land to settle and fertilize, the sea has left one large salt flat
Simply explained, it's all barren
Sorgel's Atlantropa isn't the savior of Europe like he hoped.
Instead, he doomed it. The climate is only becoming hotter without the water to regulate it.
Any colonization into North Africa
Never really happens. All has done is brought the Sahara closer to Europe, as tribes people hug the shrinking coast
Eventually, the sea disappears entirely
What replaces it isn't a fertile continent, but a salt covered desert. It's entirely inhospitable
Over the 21st century, places like Italy, the Balkans, Greece, and Spain
Begin to break down. The dry climate changes the land beyond recognition
Centuries following the Atlantropa project most of the region is abandoned
Millions fled in a mass exodus up north or to the Americas. It'd be a humanitarian
Disaster. if the situation was desperate enough, many would even cross into Africa. If the lake project was actually successful
Then a southern Europe becomes less hospitable, more Europeans call central Africa home
Back in the 20s, Venice was prized as a cultural hallmark. It needed the sea to exist
So to preserve it, Sorgel constructed a giant dam 30 miles away, to keep the sea
Always with Venice. It would be the only water left in the basin
It'd be an interesting idea with the city in the middle of a desert wasteland.
Is this the end of the world? No. It is however, the end of Europe
At least how we know it. If Europe survived, it would be cramped, dry, and facing massive continuous conflict
The groups that once worked together, now are competing
Over what's left.
I never made this video because there are so many assumptions that have to be made. It relies on so much being changed and
Isn't really like a normal scenario.
It's almost like fiction.
It's not entirely a hundred percent based on reality, because in Atlantropa isn't based on reality
So I never made it because of that. I do think it makes a very good story of a society that just like Icarus
flew too close to the Sun
Mormons... They exist. And today the general consensus on Mormons is...
They exist. And that's okay! However back in the 1850s, the consensus was far different
Mormons were despised for their views, and the feeling was mutual
The best solution was to move out west. Away from the public who wasn't too
happy about the whole polygamy thing. That journey was led by the nicknamed "American Moses", Brigham Young to what is today (I didn't understand what he said!?!??)
Utah. it was there he imagined Deseret, a massive state that he imagined would encompass much of the West
This never happened of course. The US didn't want the Mormons holding so much valuable land
But the idea of this Mormon super state has remained a popular concept in alternate history circles
It's often imagined as this Mormon theocracy in the desert a
State where Mormons forced their religion onto a vast border and operate entirely independent of the United States
So what if the state of Deseret
actually did exist in an alternate timeline?
Say, it's an alternate 1850. The proposal for the state of Deseret
passes in Congress
How? Don't ask me.
All that matters is Deseret exists
It's so large, San Diego and Denver are in the same state. Since I read a lot of alternate history fiction
I'm often influenced by these concepts
When I first imagined the scenario
I thought of a vast religious state ruled by the Latter day Saints. It be a theocracy
With laws made to enforce Mormon doctrine and its very nature clashing with the United States.
After reading the proposal for the U.S. State of Deseret
That's right. Deseret wanted to be a US state, not independent. The alternate scenario is far
far different. Right in the text, the Deseret
Constitution declares that there must be a separation of church and state and
people should worship in any way they want. Huh....
Well that doesn't really sound like a Mormon theocracy. In fact, in reality,
Deseret couldn't be that vast, interesting theocratic state at all, if it wanted to be an
actual state. And those alternate timeline
It simply be a big state in the Union, slightly influenced by Mormonism. We already have something like that
It's called, Utah! If this alternate scenario occurred, all of Deseret would be is just one very big
Utah. That doesn't mean nothing changes of course. If a state owns everything from San Diego to Denver
They're going to be influential. Deseret would be one of the wealthiest states in the Union. With access to Nevada,
Utah, and Colorado minerals, a lot of land, and most trails and railroads that have to go west. There wouldn't be a Las Vegas
since, Utah outlaws gambling. Any other weird law Utah has, you can kind of just imagine as Deseret as well.
I think you can see why this wasn't a full video. To me, this alternate reality is just simply too mundane
It'd be a big State, but since it have to abide by
Constitutional laws, That would be it! ...And be pretty boring
Deseret would have some Mormon Flair, but much like their haircuts, it'd be kind of bland
A few years ago
I said casually, "I might do a scenario about the empire Ethiopia." Say, if it industrialized in the 19th century
Much like Japan. You people never let me forget about it
I have regretted it ever since... So what does industrialized even mean? it means that
Ethiopia by the 1800s would modernize their society. they'd have things like trains and canals,
electricity, and create a modern military with weapons to rival Europe. What even was the empire of Ethiopia? Ethiopia
For thousands of years lived on the Horn of Africa as a lone kingdom. It adopted Christianity
far before Rome, and was unique for its interaction with the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa
It was one of only two African nations that stayed independent from European imperialism.
And it was the only Kingdom to fend off an invasion from a European country
If anyone in Africa had a shot to be an industrial power, it would be Ethiopia. The reason why
I haven't talked about this idea for years... ...Is I have no idea how to approach the scenario
An industrial Ethiopia is like a lion in a cage
No matter how strong the beast is, the force that surrounds it will always keep it contained
If Ethiopia had a big army, the Empire
Surrounding them could muster a bigger one. If Ethiopia had an Air Force, the British or Italians could muster a bigger one
Japan is the best example for the scenario
Japan went from an isolated state to a modern naval power in a century. It's really impressive
However, in a conflict with the United States
It immediately lost that Navy and resorted to suicidal guerrilla tactics
To no avail. In the end, a head start, a larger economy, and better technology
always wins the day. So growing the Empire through force wouldn't be an option
An industrial Ethiopia would have to be a defensive nation. The only conflict
It would ever fight is one of defense, and if that ever happened
Ethiopia would still lose. Now the reason I never wanted to do the scenario, is that's just depressing
Nobody wants to hear Ethiopia lose
So, what about Ethiopian society once it industrializes? An industrial revolution in a country
changes the country from the ground up. We can see society shift when machines are
Introduced, because it changes everything from jobs,
transportation, education, and standards of living. To see how Ethiopia as a society would change if it
industrialized leads to so many questions and possibilities. How can you even predict a societal shift like that?
Would it lead to conflict or peace? what new jobs would Ethiopians have?
Would industrialized Ethiopia change like Japan, or would it have unintended consequences
Overall, this topic is just confusing
Ethiopia itself is a diverse and complicated nation. If it somehow industrialized
It'd be surrounded by neighbors who did as well and society changes so drastically, it leads to more questions than answers
But hey! At least I talked about it!!
In an alternate timeline where I was actually an efficient person who had videos out on time
My name wouldn't be Cody. I'd be an entirely different man
Maybe my name would be Kevin
Yes. In a world where I didn't have late videos
My name would be Kevin. But since we're in this timeline. I guess this is Cody of Alternate History Hub
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