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*nods* A small war is usually preferable to a big war. Joel Send a noteboard - 07/04/2010 01:49:06 AM
Some French victory over Germany in the final decades of the 19th century, to let off pressure and serve as revenge for the Franco-Prussian war, and then maybe WW1 doesn't happen anymore. Or even just a war caused by one of the earlier crises of the 20th century - the Morocco one, for instance - in which Germany and France duke it out alone and the UK and Russia stay out.

Another interesting question if we're going to talk alternative history, is how WW1 would've happened - if at all - if Belgium hadn't been created. Either with the Kingdom of the Netherlands remaining together, or with France holding on to those lands. After all, the German violation of Belgian neutrality was the decisive factor in bringing the UK into the war.

Unless it just sets the stage for the next one the way the Franco-Prussian Wars did. Sometimes I think Bismarck was too successful for his own good; he seems to have been sincere in just wanting to integrate what he considered "German" territory into the nation proper, but by the time that goal had been achieved it had worked SO well that the Kaiser started buying into the whole "manifest destiny" line.

As to the other point you raise, I hadn't thought about it, but it's a good one. Without checking, I don't know what role Britains rivalry with the Netherlands from the Age of Exploration down to the colonial era had in England acting as Belgian Protector, but they might not have been as willing to stick their neck out for the Dutch. And, of course, if Belgium is just a French province it's to some degree another Franco-Prussian war (though I'm not sure ties between the British and Russian royal families wouldn't have dragged Britain anyway when Russia declared war on Germany in defense of Serbia, but Britain might have opted for neutrality to avoid another Crimean War. )
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I know I just did a survey, but this was too good to pass up. - 07/04/2010 12:44:15 AM 864 Views
Myself: World War I. - 07/04/2010 12:45:57 AM 737 Views
I don't think it's that simple. - 07/04/2010 12:57:16 AM 686 Views
I see your point. - 07/04/2010 01:02:33 AM 680 Views
Sometimes sooner is better than later. - 07/04/2010 01:10:11 AM 659 Views
True. - 07/04/2010 01:14:45 AM 638 Views
True, one might even say *adding* a war there would've improved things. - 07/04/2010 01:36:07 AM 642 Views
*nods* A small war is usually preferable to a big war. - 07/04/2010 01:49:06 AM 638 Views
The Plague - 07/04/2010 12:52:33 AM 619 Views
Re: The Plague - 07/04/2010 01:05:35 AM 514 Views
Maybe; there were episodic plague epidemics before and after that time. - 07/04/2010 02:05:18 AM 676 Views
I am talking about one of the plagues not THE plague - 07/04/2010 02:50:25 AM 618 Views
Re: I am talking about one of the plagues not THE plague - 07/04/2010 08:45:26 PM 611 Views
I'm so glad you have the time and inclination to type up these replies. *NM* - 08/04/2010 07:09:22 AM 390 Views
...? - 08/04/2010 07:51:14 PM 526 Views
Sounds like he was thanking you for saving him the effort of writing a similar reply. *NM* - 08/04/2010 09:28:55 PM 410 Views
If that is the case, then great *NM* - 08/04/2010 09:30:51 PM 363 Views
The spread of Christianity - 07/04/2010 12:55:29 AM 696 Views
Huh. Wild to think about. *NM* - 07/04/2010 01:06:44 AM 395 Views
Re: The spread of Christianity - 07/04/2010 08:47:06 PM 514 Views
Re: The spread of Christianity - 08/04/2010 09:29:17 AM 534 Views
Why would that have an impact on Judaism? - 08/04/2010 01:40:47 PM 613 Views
Re: Why would that have an impact on Judaism? - 08/04/2010 01:42:25 PM 445 Views
But wasn't Christianity the inspiration for a whole era of art? *NM* - 08/04/2010 01:41:34 PM 483 Views
Re: But wasn't Christianity the inspiration for a whole era of art? - 08/04/2010 01:44:36 PM 664 Views
precisely. - 08/04/2010 05:37:26 PM 636 Views
sorry, didn't see that Lorraine already addressed this. *NM* - 08/04/2010 07:55:00 PM 389 Views
The Partition of India, 1947... *NM* - 07/04/2010 12:59:32 AM 392 Views
Any paticular reason why? *NM* - 07/04/2010 01:34:54 AM 392 Views
Agreed. *NM* - 07/04/2010 01:59:02 AM 509 Views
The destruction of the Great Library. - 07/04/2010 01:02:59 AM 590 Views
Internet spam sucks indeed. - 07/04/2010 01:08:23 AM 690 Views
We'll never know; makes for fascinating speculative fiction. - 07/04/2010 01:13:49 AM 643 Views
This whole topic is wild, it's something I sometimes think about. - 07/04/2010 01:17:50 AM 626 Views
Ya, that's what makes history so gripping. - 07/04/2010 01:19:54 AM 717 Views
I don't know if that's really true... - 07/04/2010 01:39:51 AM 637 Views
It wouldn't have been as sudden or extreme. - 07/04/2010 01:58:39 AM 675 Views
"Joel captures Alexandria! The Great Library is destroyed!" *NM* - 07/04/2010 01:08:35 AM 261 Views
NOOOO1111 - 07/04/2010 01:11:33 AM 550 Views
A shame. It's one of the better ones, too. *NM* - 07/04/2010 01:14:20 AM 393 Views
Not in the first two Civs. - 07/04/2010 01:22:43 AM 483 Views
Civ, i love that game... - 07/04/2010 03:01:13 AM 590 Views
Yeah that's one of the small annoying things - 07/04/2010 07:34:52 AM 481 Views
An interesting point - 07/04/2010 02:57:03 AM 645 Views
That's usually my reply to this question too *NM* - 07/04/2010 11:42:55 AM 362 Views
if the giant meteor hadn't destroyed the dinosaurs... - 07/04/2010 01:10:42 AM 554 Views
"FOR" global warming? Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd here! - 07/04/2010 01:16:04 AM 472 Views
The spread of Islam - 07/04/2010 01:26:11 AM 652 Views
oh aren't you clever. *NM* - 07/04/2010 01:47:13 AM 370 Views
There's such a thing as being right for the wrong reasons, though I'm not sure he is. - 07/04/2010 02:12:14 AM 469 Views
Wikipedia is of course not a scholarly source, but all the same... - 07/04/2010 11:57:01 AM 622 Views
Fair enough. - 07/04/2010 12:51:16 PM 612 Views
I read the Bernard Lewis article referred to at Wikipedia... - 07/04/2010 01:19:03 PM 598 Views
So it's borrowed propaganda. - 13/04/2010 09:30:39 AM 583 Views
Re: The spread of Islam - 08/04/2010 09:24:31 AM 687 Views
Haha, are you kidding? - 08/04/2010 07:59:39 PM 451 Views
Re: Haha, are you kidding? - 08/04/2010 08:50:33 PM 441 Views
Ask yourself the question... - 08/04/2010 09:33:33 PM 458 Views
I don't see the connection. - 08/04/2010 08:49:46 PM 633 Views
Re: I don't see the connection. - 08/04/2010 08:51:21 PM 497 Views
I'd better not touch this one - 07/04/2010 03:12:00 AM 664 Views
The spread of Judaism. - 07/04/2010 04:30:37 AM 591 Views
Re: The spread of Judaism. - 07/04/2010 07:31:02 AM 531 Views
I...do not know. - 07/04/2010 07:18:13 AM 523 Views
Amusing that the underlying expectation seems to be more along political history lines - 07/04/2010 12:56:49 PM 707 Views
Considering the way history is taught, is it surprising? *NM* - 08/04/2010 07:11:03 AM 353 Views
Nope, not really - 08/04/2010 10:24:54 AM 621 Views
Here's one that'll be more to your liking... - 08/04/2010 10:40:53 AM 459 Views
Yes - 08/04/2010 10:52:11 AM 598 Views
Re: Here's one that'll be more to your liking... - 08/04/2010 11:58:27 AM 493 Views
Uh... - 08/04/2010 12:11:14 PM 652 Views
Re: Uh... - 08/04/2010 12:15:20 PM 670 Views
The Devil is always in the details - 08/04/2010 12:29:25 PM 614 Views
Re: The Devil is always in the details - 08/04/2010 12:32:34 PM 403 Views
Not really - 08/04/2010 01:07:57 PM 572 Views
Re: Not really - 08/04/2010 01:10:16 PM 490 Views
Only to a degree - 08/04/2010 01:27:22 PM 588 Views
Re: Only to a degree - 08/04/2010 01:30:12 PM 700 Views
I was into cultural and religious history - 08/04/2010 01:38:24 PM 595 Views
Re: I was into cultural and religious history - 08/04/2010 01:41:31 PM 466 Views
Ha! - 08/04/2010 01:49:23 PM 624 Views
Re: Ha! - 08/04/2010 01:51:28 PM 449 Views
I'm really sleep deprived... - 08/04/2010 02:13:20 PM 745 Views
Re: I'm really sleep deprived... - 08/04/2010 02:19:07 PM 494 Views
- 08/04/2010 02:52:59 PM 597 Views
Interesting fact of the day for you two... - 08/04/2010 02:45:15 PM 488 Views
I know - 08/04/2010 02:46:41 PM 622 Views
It was nice being a "threadkiller" of a different sort - 08/04/2010 10:08:34 PM 496 Views
Quote Pyramids of Destiny FTL *NM* - 08/04/2010 10:16:21 PM 382 Views
me being born mega rich *NM* - 07/04/2010 02:15:34 PM 500 Views
Joanie Loves Chachi. - 07/04/2010 03:42:56 PM 546 Views
worse than "afterMASH"?? *NM* - 07/04/2010 03:50:10 PM 347 Views
Worse than "Joey" ? *NM* - 07/04/2010 06:48:25 PM 369 Views
If you remember Joanie loves Chachi, you might be too old? - 08/04/2010 12:00:34 AM 473 Views
Re: I know I just did a survey, but this was too good to pass up. - 07/04/2010 09:04:02 PM 494 Views
Science getting on the ball in the 40's and making superhumans *NM* - 08/04/2010 05:31:34 AM 421 Views
The spread of peanut butter and jelly. - 08/04/2010 07:12:21 AM 643 Views
The Bread of Christianity. - 08/04/2010 07:12:51 AM 633 Views
The dead of Christianity. - 08/04/2010 07:13:34 AM 624 Views
The thread of Christianity. - 08/04/2010 07:14:15 AM 564 Views
The head of [Roman Catholic] Christianity. - 08/04/2010 07:15:21 AM 600 Views
You completely missed the "pick 1" part of the question, didn't you? *NM* - 08/04/2010 09:26:23 AM 377 Views
Well, techinically, I never said that you couldn't make multible posts, each discussing 1 thing. *NM* - 08/04/2010 05:36:37 PM 351 Views
I'm fairly sure he was just mocking someone's earlier post "just thought it would be interesting..." *NM* - 08/04/2010 08:06:56 PM 354 Views
I'm pretty sure of that too. *NM* - 08/04/2010 08:33:46 PM 358 Views
...it's pretty interesting *NM* - 08/04/2010 08:35:47 PM 418 Views
just as you thought it would be? *NM* - 08/04/2010 08:44:49 PM 353 Views
My parody. - 08/04/2010 10:41:29 PM 577 Views
Re: My parody. - 09/04/2010 07:29:19 AM 656 Views
The 1987 Rugby World Cup Final - 13/04/2010 12:23:17 PM 656 Views

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