Taking more Italian territory will only multiply problems; the Emperor will surely intervene within the Kingdom of Italy until at least the 15th century and although Venice has a certain amount of terra firma recognised by the Empire before then, its certainly not enough to holy Egypt which...
The Roman Republic's constitution, as it was, existed as a balancing act between aristocratic and popular demands. The renaissance political theorists, like Machiavelli and Guicciardini, argued the mixed constitution was the source of its success as it created effective long term government...
The idea that The Prince is a satire shows a complete lack of awareness of any of Machiavelli's other works and really is a tired old rag thrown up by people too enamoured with the modern connotations of the term Machiavellian to actually read his stuff.
Machiavelli was a dedicated Republican...
Except it imported very little, hence the rise of the opium trade. Britain needed to export something to China because its commerce was leading to a bullion trade in India, as well as inflation in China as enormous amounts of silver entering circulation.
China's trade problem was its massive...
All this talk about colonising Siberia for gold or woll and what-not is a white elephant. The Chinese never colonised Siberia because they didn't have to; the Grand Canal and the development of the Lower Yangtze regional economy meant that rice, grain, textiles and other consumer goods could be...
Athens retained a lot of autonomy within the Roman Empire well into the AD period, so it's not infeasible that during the conquest it's made a protectorate of Rome under a pliant oligarchy, a republican system or indeed even a democracy of some sort.
If it plays it safe during the Roman...
The Tanzimat reforms in the 19th century can be described as both Islamist and democratic. The period saw the Majallah reforms in the Ottoman Empire, where Sharia was codified and the powers of the Caliph as leader of Islam cemented and made key points of state ideology. The period also saw the...
Thing is though, although in hindsight things like the Indian Ocean spice trade look important but it was of marginal importance for the Roman economy. What really mattered was grain-hence Egypt and North Africa. Yes, it might have made the Caesars a bit of money and made nobles' lives a bit...
No. Just no. Francis I was almost universally hated for military co-operation with the Ottomans, a marriage alliance would be unthinkable.
Also:
What happened to Thomas Cromwell? If you want to make England more conventionally Protestant during the Henrician reformation you're going to have...
This is a really weird idea, but let's just go with it...
In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the island of Heimay, off Iceland, taking many captives. What if an enterprising corsair established a base on Heimay or even Iceland itself, as a stopping-off point for slaves captured in Scotland...
Cheers. I should note that most of the borders, especially the chartered colonial ones, are statements of legal ownership rather than of actual de jure control. I guess just like in 1914 the French didn't actually control every square inch of the Sahara, but it's still all coloured in blue...
On Second Thoughts, Let's Not...
The late 1840s were a gruelling time for the peoples of Europe. The hungry forties saw the spectre of famine visit every corner of the continent from Corke to Lvov. In 1848 the French monarchy fell and the Second French Republic was installed. Little did the...
Introduce Catholic Emancipation in 1801 like Pitt wanted. One way to do this would have George III be declared mad at around this time; with George IV as Regent Emancipation might be more politically realistic. It was, after all, George III who refused to countenance Emancipation in his own...
Fitzroy's royal blood was never questioned. hence the duchies, but being made a duke didn't necessarily imply legitimacy. Look at the Beauforts (Exeter) and Edmund Tudor (who wasn't a bastard but was clearly just someone had to be given something for the sake of dignity.)
Also Elizabeth and...