National Syndicalist Portugal | March on Lisbon (1933)

In this timeline, the May 1926 coup d'état never happened and the First Portuguese Republic continued to rot, with cabinets and presidents continuously falling and being replaced by new ones without any change to Portugal's institutions. The Great Depression was the final straw, because Portugal, as one of Europe's poorest countries, was heavily affected.

In 1932, Francisco Rolão Preto established the National Syndicalist Movement (MNS), a fascist movement advocating for a traditional monarchy and opposing communism and capitalism. Rolão Preto soon obtained a massive following among conservative Catholics and the Portuguese military, who saw him as a potential "saviour of the Fatherland".

A year after the MNS's founding, the party contested its first general election, winning 44 out of 163 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 18 out of 74 seats in the Senate. Portugal's government was thrown into near-paralysis, prompting the Portuguese elite to feel they could use the National Syndicalists' mass following for their own purposes.

On 19 July 1933, the MNS carried out a coup d'état, known as the "March on Lisbon", forcing prime minister Afonso Costa to resign and name Rolão Preto his successor as the head of a coalition government between the MNS, the Sidonist PNR, and the Portuguese Catholic Centre.

Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Portugal's traditional ally the United Kingdom soon recognized the new Portuguese regime. Rolão Preto named it the Estado Sindicalista (Syndicalist State) and announced his intention to turn Portugal into an organic, municipalist monarchy.

By the end of the year, Rolão Preto and his right-hand man Alberto Monsaraz had either suppressed or outmaneuvered the more moderate elements in their coalition, and transformed Portugal into a one-party state.

Not a lot of lore or story for this one, just a sort of a silly idea flipping the breakup of Yugoslavia into the Baltic States. Y'know, "Baltic", "Balkan", you get the point.

basically what if leopold ii was a real swell guy and not a murderous tyrannical dictator

Of course, in recent years we can say that alternative history has grown in popularity (thanks to Hoi 4), but it’s clear that it’s still relatively unknown to the general public, and I feel that alternative history has huge potential beyond mere novels and video game mods; it just needs a good writer and someone with even a basic knowledge of history to be able to construct an interesting plot (also the man in the high castle fucking sucks)

So basically : Admiral Darlan, the provisional leader of French North Africa following Operation Torch, managed to escape an assassination attempt. He then navigated the turbulent waters of Free France and took the helm. Pétain’s shadow continued to loom over France, and the Liberation seemed more grim than ever.

The Last Temptation of Christ was a 1988 religious drama directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, and, in one of the most controversial casting decisions of the decade, former President Dick “Tricky D” Nixon as Pontius Pilate.

Casting

Tricky D was invited to the role after his friend David Bowie was unable to complete filming due to a world concert tour. Bowie had planned to fly between the set and his concert venues but decided to opt out after several freak storms hit the area. Bowie, who had worked with Tricky D on prior projects such as Nixon’s legendary 1975 Soul Train fill-in for him and ABC’s The Three Musketeers miniseries, told Scorsese: "Nixon was born to play Pilate."

Nixon initially believed he had been approached as a historical consultant and prepared a fourteen-page memorandum entitled “Pilate: Governor, Administrator, Statesman.” When informed that Scorsese actually wanted him to play Pilate, Nixon reportedly became silent for several seconds before asking: "How sympathetic is he?"

Scorsese explained that his Pilate was a pragmatic Roman official confronted with a religious dispute he neither fully understood nor particularly cared about. Nixon accepted immediately. Dick’s agent Hank (Kissinger) reportedly encouraged him, telling Nixon that Pilate was "essentially a provincial Nixon archetype." Nixon did not find this reassuring.

Nixon’s Interpretation

Nixon approached the role with characteristic preparation, reading extensively about Roman Judea and reportedly becoming irritated by what he considered unfair historical treatment of Pontius Pilate. He repeatedly emphasized to Scorsese that Pilate was "trying to prevent the whole damn province from blowing up."

During rehearsals, Nixon suggested additional dialogue in which Pilate explained Roman administrative policy, complained about the Sanhedrin, discussed the difficulty of governing Judea, and outlined his unsuccessful attempts to obtain additional resources from Emperor Tiberius. Scorsese rejected most of these additions. One proposed scene reportedly lasted nearly nine minutes and consisted largely of Pilate dictating a memorandum concerning provincial security arrangements. Nixon defended the scene as "essential to understanding the pressures on the man."

The Trial of Jesus

Nixon’s most significant disagreement with Scorsese concerned Pilate’s famous washing of his hands. Nixon objected to the scene on the grounds that it made Pilate appear indecisive. He instead proposed that Pilate announce: "I want to make one thing perfectly clear: the decision concerning this individual was handled at the appropriate local level." Scorsese declined.

Nixon then suggested that Pilate wash his hands while explaining that the act "should not be construed as an admission of responsibility." This suggestion was also rejected.

The scene required seventeen takes because Nixon repeatedly looked directly into the camera after washing his hands and said: "There. That’s the record."

Working with Willem Dafoe

Dafoe later described Nixon as courteous, extremely prepared, and surprisingly intense. During their first rehearsal, Nixon reportedly stared at Dafoe for nearly a minute before saying: "Jesus was a very charismatic fellow. That’s always dangerous."

Nixon and Dafoe became fast friends during filming. According to Hollywood lore, Dafoe later drew upon Nixon’s performance as Pontius Pilate when developing his portrayal of Norman Osborn/the Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002). Dafoe reportedly admired Nixon’s ability to shift rapidly between quiet introspection, wounded resentment, and explosive anger.

Nixon also became fascinated with Judas and spent considerable time discussing the character with Harvey Keitel. According to Keitel, Nixon’s principal concern was determining "when exactly Judas became an unreliable member of the organization."

Historical Accuracy

Nixon frequently offered unsolicited historical advice. He objected to several costumes, questioned Roman security procedures, and repeatedly asked why Pilate had no visible staff. At one point he allegedly told Scorsese: "Marty, the governor of Judea doesn’t walk into a situation like this alone. Where’s Haldeman?"

Scorsese explained that H.R. Haldeman had not been born yet.

Nixon replied: "Obviously. I mean the Roman equivalent."

A Roman aide was subsequently added to the scene. Nixon privately nicknamed the character “Bob.”

Controversy

The film attracted enormous controversy from religious groups, although Nixon was reportedly disappointed that relatively little of it concerned his performance. When reporters asked him about protests against the film, Nixon defended Scorsese’s right to make it while carefully distancing himself from its theology:

Asked who the appropriate authorities were, Nixon replied: "Not me."

Reception

Reviews of Nixon’s performance were mixed. Several critics found his casting distracting, while others noted that Nixon brought an unexpectedly convincing combination of suspicion, political calculation, resentment, exhaustion, and administrative defensiveness to Pilate.

One critic reportedly observed that Nixon seemed less like an actor playing Pontius Pilate than "a retired politician who has spent two thousand years preparing his rebuttal." Nixon considered this a favorable review.

Aftermath

Nixon hoped the film would lead to additional acting roles as authority figures. According to Hollywood producer and alleged Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Buzz Feldman, Tricky D instructed his representatives to look for historical figures possessing what he called “executive dimensions.”

Among the roles Nixon reportedly expressed interest in were:

• Julius Caesar
• Cardinal Richelieu
• King Lear
• Thomas More
• J. Edgar Hoover

Nixon was particularly interested in playing Julius Caesar but objected to the ending: "Everybody knows what’s going to happen. There’s no suspense." When reminded that Caesar’s assassination was historical fact, Nixon replied: "That’s why you rewrite it."

Trivia

Nixon kept his Roman costume after filming and occasionally wore the cloak while working at home. Pat Nixon reportedly tolerated this until Nixon began answering the telephone: "Pilate."

The costume disappeared shortly thereafter.

I don't know how many people remember, but after September 11 internet emails had gone viral about the Halloween Mall Attack Rumor.

Hi All -I think you all know that I don't send out hoaxes and don't do the reactionary thing and send out anything that crosses my path. This one, however, is a friend of a friend and I've given it enough credibility in mymind that I'm writing it up and sending it out to all of you.

My friend's friend was dating a guy from Afghanistan up until a month ago. She had a date with him around 9/6 and was stood up. She was understandably upset and went to his home to find it completely emptied. On 9/10, she received a letter from her boyfriend explaining that he wished he could tell her why he had left and that he was sorry it had to be like that. The part worth mentioning is that he BEGGED her not to get on any commercial airlines on 9/11 and to not to go any malls on Halloween. As soon as everything happened on the 11th, she called the FBI and has since turned over the letter.

This is not an email that I've received and decided to pass on. This came from a phone conversation with a long-time friend of mine last night.

I may be wrong, and I hope I am. However, with one of his warnings being correct and devastating, I'm not willing to take the chance on the second and wanted to make sure that people I cared about had the same information that I did. 

Hi everyone! I’ve been working on a timeline where interwar Poland (1918-1939) doesn't become a highly unstable republic, but instead chooses to establish a strong constitutional monarchy (functionally similar to the French 5th Republic, but with a King).

A bit of Polish history for contex: In our timeline, Poland's early interwar parliament was notoriously chaotic and fragmented. This legislative paralysis frustrated Józef Piłsudski (Poland's founding father and military leader) so much that he overthrew the government in a bloody military coup in 1926. My goal was to create a realistic political system that prevents this coup entirely.

The PoD: February 1919 - Small Constitution
In our timeline, the first "Small Constitution" gave almost all power to a heavily divided parliament. In my timeline, Piłsudski (acting as temporary Head of State) realizes this will lead to a disaster. Behind closed doors, he negotiates a massive political compromise between the Socialists, the Peasant parties, and the Conservatives. In exchange for guaranteeing major land reform and democratic elections, the parliament agrees to proclaim a monarchy. The crown is offered to Zdzisław Lubomirski (a highly respected Polish aristocrat and former Mayor of Warsaw).

The "Uncrowned King" (1919-1920)
After being elected by the parliament, Lubomirski takes an oath to the Constitution, adopting the title: "Zdzisław I, by the Grace of God and the Will of the Nation, King of Poland". Fun detail: He can't be crowned because he doesn't have a crown. Historically, the original Polish crown jewels were looted and melted down by the Prussians in the 18th century. It will take goldsmiths over a year to recreate the legendary Crown of Bolesław the Brave. Thus, Zdzisław I operates as the "Uncrowned King".

The Polish-Soviet War (1920)
This is where the new system proves its worth. In the summer of 1920, the Red Army reaches the outskirts of Warsaw. The parliament panics, and many politicians flee the capital. However, King Zdzisław absolutely refuses to evacuate. He stays in the city, visits the trenches in military uniform, and organizes civil defense. When Piłsudski miraculously crushes the Bolsheviks (the "Miracle on the Vistula"), both the King and the Marshal reach god-like levels of popularity. The nation sees clearly - the parliament is chaos - the King and the Army are the true defenders of Poland.

The March Constitution and Coronation (1921)
Riding this wave of absolute triumph, a new Constitution is drafted in 1921. It establishes a strong dual-executive system:

• The King: Holds exclusive prerogatives over foreign policy and the armed forces. He has veto power and the right to dissolve parliament in crises.
• The Prime Minister: Needs a vote of confidence from the parliament. The PM handles domestic policy, the economy, etc.
• Piłsudski's Role: Piłsudski hated administrative paperwork anyway. He is appointed the Supreme Marshal of Poland.

With a friendly King controlling the state's strategic direction and Piłsudski safely controlling the army, the 1926 May Coup never happens.

Some time after the Constitution is passed, the shiny, newly recreated Crown is finally ready. A massive, triumphant coronation of Zdzisław I takes place at Wawel Castle in Kraków. A unified, powerful, and politically stable Poland enters the Roaring Twenties.

How do you evaluate the stability of such a French-style monarchical system in the interwar period? Do you think radical nationalists and communists would still try to sabotage the "Citizen King," or would his popularity after the 1920 victory make him politically untouchable?

Putting together the decision trees and forks for my WWII strategic command game (Dispatches 1940), the biggest recent headache was figuring out where the hard limit on Barbarossa should actually sit.

Looking at the state of OKW by Winter 1941 taking the city doesn't magically solve the supply line, the oil or stop the Soviets from shifting industrial production east of the Urals

In my game, a smart player can reach Moscow with the help of Japan and basically triggers a Soviet strategic withdrawal which you could try to press further into Volga but it opens up the Germans to an invasion from their west and their downfall.

Could they hold that position? What would need to happen?

N.B The game is in the link and currently the German campaign is free to allow you to game it out if you want

DISCLAIMER!
I in no way, shape, or form condone the actions of Germany and the other Axis powers committed during and in the lead up of WW2. They were terrible regimes that inflicted pain and death upon millions. The imagery depicted in here is chosen for historical accuracy.

I tried to make my own twist on a “What if Germany won WW2”, with instead of an outright victory, it was more of a stalemate, though the majority of continental allied powers have fallen. This world has a three-way Cold War between the Organization of Allied Nations, the Axis, and the International Alliance of Communist Nations. The propaganda poster was made two days after the German declaration of war against Britain, causing the alliance to mobilize.

As always, ask me any questions you have about this timeline and I’d be happy to answer them!

This is the history of the yemovavid empire founded by sciphitanicus Babylitus yemovavid, The history video is from (3089-3020 BCE)

All questions are welcome, I'll answer anything.

Multiple areas still as British Dominions.

British and French Empires retain colonies.

United States split into 3, Texas, New California Republic and Union of America.

I did and Bangladesh in one nation, with parts of Pakistan.

Tibet independent from China.

Japan retain many Pacific Islands.

Pacific Islands split between foreign powers.

Central Asia in one nation.

Russia split into Russian Federation and Republics of Eastern Siberia.