Line #28 Main/AlternateHistoryTropes


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7	->''"Some men see things as they are and ask ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and ask ‘Why not?’"''
8	-->-- '''UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy''' (paraphrasing Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw)
9
10	AlternateHistory has numerous associated tropes, answering questions of how history could have happened differently.
11
12	See also AlternateUniverse, ThisIndexIsAnachronistic, and TimeTravelTropes.
13	----
14	!!Tropes:
15	[[index]]
16	[floatboxright:
17	'''Main topic:'''
18	* AlternateHistory
19
20	'''Subcategories:'''
21	* ThisIndexIsAnachronistic
22	* PunkPunk
23	]
24	* AdvancedAncientHumans: An ancient or even prehistoric human civilization that was far more technologically advanced than later human societies.
25	* AirstripOne: Conquered territories are rebranded with a label and a number.
26	* AlienSpaceBats: A catchall term for alternate history scenarios which involve sci-fi/fantasy elements, or are otherwise very implausible and unrealistic.
27	* AllianceOfAlternates: Multiple incarnations of the same person from different timelines or universes teaming up together.
28	* AllohistoricalAllusion: Some different version of a major historical event in our timeline also happened in an alternate timeline.
29	* AlternateHistoryDinosaurSurvival: The dinosaurs never went extinct.
30	* AlternateHistoryNaziVictory: UsefulNotes/NaziGermany (and presumably the other Axis powers as well) win UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
31	* AlternateHistoryWank: When a particular nation or faction becomes far more powerful in the alternate timeline than they were in reality.
32	* AlternateLandmarkHistory: A real-life landmark or monument has a different origin story in fiction.
33	* AlternateSelf: Another version of you or someone else from another timeline or universe.
34	* AlternateTechline: Technology developed differently in this timeline.
35	* AlternateTimeline: A different series of events compared to our original timeline.
36	* AlternateUniverse: A different counterpart to our universe.
37	* AmericaIsStillAColony: The British colonies in North America never became independent, as UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution was either thwarted or averted altogether.
38	* {{Americasia}}: Western North America was colonized by East Asians instead of Europeans.
39	* AmericaTakesOverTheWorld: The whole world is somehow under the effective control of the USA.
40	* AncientAstronauts: Alien visitors came down to Earth during prehistoric/ancient times and influenced the development of early human civilizations.
41	* Area51: A US Air Force base in Nevada that is said to be secretly housing captured alien spacecraft ([[RoswellThatEndsWell usually recovered from Roswell, New Mexico]]).
42	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: When a work of historical fiction contains factual inaccuracies that are more the result of poor research or outright carelessness, rather than an intentional effort at writing a different take on history.
43	* {{Atlantis}}: A legendary ancient island civilization which was said to have been destroyed and sank into the ocean. It has appeared in many different works of fiction as a place which really existed, either as [[UnderwaterRuins a bunch of submerged ancient ruins]] or [[UnderwaterCity somehow still thriving and inhabited]].
44	* AvoidingTheGreatWar: UsefulNotes/WorldWarI never happened as we know it.
45	* BalkanizeMe: A real country gets divided into smaller countries following a major war or other great political upheaval.
46	* BeenThereShapedHistory: A fictional character who was involved in real historical events, maybe even responsible for causing them in the first place.
47	* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: A historical figure's life or identity was secretly far more fantastical than what we know about.
48	* TheBermudaTriangle: An area of the Atlantic Ocean (somewhere between Bermuda, Florida, and Puerto Rico) that is supernaturally prone to causing the strange disappearances of ships and planes that cross it.
49	* BizarroUniverse: A universe where everything is the opposite version of its regular counterpart.
50	* BlackVikings: Someone who is a member of a distantly foreign ethnic group appears in a ''very unlikely'' historical setting.
51	* ButterflyOfDoom: Time travelers to the past often find that their actions will accidentally result in extremely unpredictable (and undesirable) consequences for the future.
52	* CausedTheBigBang: There's a lot more to the story of how the universe began than we know of.
53	* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld: The whole world is somehow under the effective control of China.
54	* CloseEnoughTimeline
55	* ConspiracyKitchenSink: Almost every kind of conspiracy theory or UrbanLegend you've ever heard of is at least partially true in this story's setting.
56	* DatedHistory: When new discoveries and updated research about historical events causes [[TimeMarchesOn older works on the subject to now be considered innaccurate]], thus retroactively making them works of accidental alternate history.
57	* DayOfTheJackboot: A country gets taken over by an authoritarian regime.
58	* DeadAlternateCounterpart
59	* DemonKingNobunaga: The 16th century Japanese warlord UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga was actually (or became) a supernatural being.
60	* DidAnastasiaSurvive: What if the [[UsefulNotes/AnastasiaNikolaevnaRomanova Grand Duchess Anastasia]] (the youngest daughter of [[UsefulNotes/TsarTsarAutocrats Tsar Nicholas II of Russia]]) had somehow managed to escape the [[RulingFamilyMassacre executions of the Romanov dynasty]] during the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober Russian Revolution]]?
61	* DifferentStatesOfAmerica: Different versions of the history and geography of the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates.
62	* DifferentWorldDifferentMovies: Works of fictional media that only exist in alternate timelines.
63	* DividedStatesOfAmerica: The USA has been {{balkanize\|Me}}d, usually because of the [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]] ([[SecondAmericanCivilWar or its sequel]]).
64	* DoubleBlindWhatIf: People living in an alternate timeline ponder how different things would be if history had turned out more like it did in the real world.
65	* ElvisLives: Music/ElvisPresley didn't actually die of a heart attack in 1977, he just faked his death and is hiding out somewhere.
66	* ElvisHasLeftThePlanet: Music/ElvisPresley just left Earth to move to another planet.
67	* {{Eurabia}}: All or most of the nations of Europe (and the Western/Christian world) have somehow been conquered and converted by the Arab/Muslim world.
68	* EvilStatesOfAmerica: The USA has become TheEmpire.
69	* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: The USA has acquired many more states and territories than it did in real life.
70	* FailedFutureForecast: A story makes a prediction about the future that doesn't come to pass, thus becoming (accidental) alternate history in the present day.
71	* FallenStatesOfAmerica: The USA has grown weak, no longer qualifies as a global superpower, or may not even exist anymore.
72	* FamouslyMundaneFictionallyMagical: Something which exists in real life has supernatural features in fiction.
73	* FantasyAmericana: The USA as a [[HistoricalFantasy magical]] [[UrbanFantasy setting]].
74	* FantasyLandmarkEquivalent: Writers invent a landmark equivalent of a real world landmark.
75	* TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower: Writers get creative about what happened to the sons of UsefulNotes/EdwardIV.
76	* FictionalCombatTroop: A fictional combat formation serving a RealLife entity.
77	* FictionalCountry: A made-up sovereign nation-state which has been inserted into an otherwise-identical map of the real world.
78	* FictionalEarth: An alternate counterpart of our real planet, which features (radically) different political and/or physical geography; up to and including completely unrecognizable continents and oceans.
79	* FictionalizedDeathAccount: A historical figure's death happens much differently from real life.
80	* FictionalProvince: A province, state, or other sub-national region of a real-world country which only exists in-universe.
81	* FictionalPoliticalParty: A made-up political organization which participates in a real-world government.
82	* FictionalUnitedNations: An international diplomatic organization which acts as an {{expy}} of the real UsefulNotes/UnitedNations.
83	* FlashSideways
84	* FourthReich: The Nazis somehow rise to power again ''after losing'' WWII.
85	* {{Ghostapo}}: UsefulNotes/NaziGermany tries to weaponize various forms of dark magic or supernatural phenomena to gain an advantage in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
86	* GivingRadioToTheRomans: A time-traveler from the future decides to introduce modern technology to the past.
87	* GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel: Using time travel to meddle with the past increases the chances of a German victory in WWII.
88	* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: A historical figure is depicted as [[AdaptationalBadass being much braver and more awesome]] than they were in reality.
89	* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: A historical figure is depicted as being much more physically attractive than they actually were.
90	* HistoricalCharactersFictionalRelative: A fictional character who is somehow a blood relative of a real person.
91	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Any character who existed as an actual person from real-world history, though they may be depicted extremely differently in works of fiction.
92	* HistoricalDomainSuperperson: A historical figure possesses superhuman abilities.
93	* HistoricalDowngrade: A historical figure is depicted as being overall much less important, impressive, or influential than their reputation implies.
94	* HistoricalFantasy: When supernatural beings and events are inserted into a historical setting that is otherwise based on the real world.
95	* HistoricalGenderFlip: A real person has a different gender or sex in fiction.
96	* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: A historical figure is depicted as [[AdaptationalHeroism being much more good and heroic]] than they were in reality.
97	* HistoricalHilarity: A joke or gag about a historical figure.
98	* HistoricalInJoke: A gag about how that character changed history or left their mark on it.
99	* HistoricalPersonPunchline: An unnamed character is revealed to actually be a famous historical figure.
100	* HistoricalRapSheet: A particular villain was the culprit for some infamous crimes or disasters in history.
101	* HistoricalRelationshipOverhaul: The nature or dynamic of two historical domain characters is portrayed differently to how it was in RealLife.
102	* HistoricalUglinessUpdate: A historical figure is depicted to look more physically unattractive than they actually were.
103	* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: A historical figure who was well-known for committing some very bad deeds has them downplayed in fiction, though without being [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade completely glorified and whitewashed]] either.
104	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: A historical figure is depicted as [[AdaptationalVillainy being much more evil and villainous]] than they were in reality.
105	* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: Time-traveling assassins who try to kill UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler in the past will usually fail (and even if they do succeed, [[ButterflyOfDoom it may result in undesirable consequences]]).
106	* HumanityCameFromSpace: Humans are not actually from Earth, and only settled down here from another planet a very long time ago.
107	* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: A teleportation device similar to a TimeMachine, though instead of [[TimeTravel transportation to the past or future]], it takes the user to an alternate timeline/universe in the present day.
108	* InSpiteOfANail: When (drastic) changes to the past somehow result in some future events somehow still happening with little or no alteration.
109	* InvadedStatesOfAmerica: The USA is under foreign military occupation.
110	* IstanbulNotConstantinople: Alternate names for real-life locations.
111	* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: The whole world is somehow under the effective control of Japan.
112	* JuliusBeethovenDaVinci: A long-lived or immortal character turns out to have assumed the identities of one or more historical figure(s).
113	* UsefulNotes/TheLostColonyOfRoanoke: What caused the abandonment of Roanoke, a short-lived English settlement in what's now present-day North Carolina during the late 16th century?
114	* MassTeleportation: An entire location or large quantity of objects and people get displaced into another time period.
115	* MexicoCalledTheyWantTexasBack: Mexico has regained (or never lost) control over the US state of Texas (and maybe even the rest of the Southwestern United States).
116	* MiddleEasternCoalition: All or most of the nations of the Greater Middle East (and the Arab/Muslim world) have somehow been united under one big caliphate/empire/federation, or at least form a cohesive geopolitical alliance.
117	* MirrorSelf
118	* MirrorUniverse: A universe where morality is reversed, with the counterparts of good people being evil and vice versa.
119	* ModernMayincatecEmpire: A [[{{Mayincatec}} pre-Columbian Mesoamerican or Andean civilization]] that still exists today.
120	* MoonLandingHoax: {{UsefulNotes/NASA}}'s famous Apollo 11 space mission which saw American astronauts land on the Moon never actually happened. The US government decided to just save money by staging a fake Moon landing at a film studio instead.
121	* MysticalHollywood: America's entertainment capital is a literally magical place. May be haunted by the spirits of dead celebrities.
122	* NaziZombies: [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Schutzstaffel and Wehrmacht soldiers]] who have been turned into [[NightOfTheLivingMooks undead minions]].
123	* NeverWasThisUniverse: A work takes place in a universe that clearly has a different history from the real world, but no clear point of divergence.
124	* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: A fictional city which is based on a real city, and which may even be an in-universe stand-in for it.
125	* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: A fictional {{expy}} character who is clearly based on a real historical person, but they have a different name and identity.
126	* NonSequiturCausality: Altering history somehow has consequences with no apparent connection to the outcome of what was directly changed.
127	* OneManIndustrialRevolution: One particular inventor is responsible for the creation of most modern technology.
128	* OneWorldOrder: All the nations of Earth have somehow been united under one big global government.
129	* OppressiveStatesOfAmerica: The USA is under an authoritarian/totalitarian system of government.
130	* PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs: Something else besides a meteorite caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.
131	* PointOfDivergence: The significant date in an alternate timeline at which it stops resembling real history.
132	* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: When modern cultural attitudes (especially regarding morality and prejudices) are injected into a historical setting in which [[ValuesDissonance people of the time held radically different beliefs]].
133	* PossibleWar: A potential military conflict which some expected to happen in the past (or future).
134	* PostSovietReunion: Russia reunites with the other ex-Soviet states into a new alliance, supranational union, or unified superstate.
135	* PreventTheWar: A real-life war has been averted in this timeline.
136	* RealEventFictionalCause: An unconventional (or even fantastic) explanation is given for a real historical event.
137	* RichardNixonTheUsedCarSalesman: A historical figure has a [[AdaptationalJobChange radically different career]] in an alternate timeline.
138	* RoswellThatEndsWell: Rather than a weather balloon, an alien spaceship crash-landed near the town of Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.
139	* RubberBandHistory
140	* RussiaCalledTheyWantAlaskaBack: Russia has regained (or never lost) control over the US state of Alaska.
141	* RussiaTakesOverTheWorld: The whole world is somehow under the effective control of Russia or the USSR.
142	* SalemIsWitchCountry: The infamous [[WitchHunt Salem witch trials]] that occurred around colonial Massachusetts in 1692 were not merely the result of superstitious mass hysteria -- because (at least some of) the unlucky defendants [[RealAfterAll actually were practicing genuine witchcraft]].
143	* SchizoTech: Anachronistic technology (i.e., futuristic machines in the past).
144	* SecondAmericanCivilWar: The United States goes through ''yet another'' [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]].
145	* SecretHistory: Some historical records which have been hidden away from the general public.
146	* SlidingScaleOfAlternateHistoryPlausibility: Just how possible or realistic is this alternate timeline?
147	* SovietSuperscience: The USSR develops futuristic technology and super-weapons during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII or the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. This is basically UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's answer to StupidJetpackHitler.
148	* SpaceFillingEmpire: The world's geography is dominated by just a few or several gigantic empires.
149	* SplitTimelinesPlot
150	* StockUnsolvedMysteries: Various historical mysteries, UrbanLegends, and conspiracy theories that are rife with fantastical speculation to explain how they happened.
151	* StupidJetpackHitler: The Nazis try to develop futuristic technology and super-weapons.
152	* SuppressedHistory
153	* TeslaTechTimeline: UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla was far more influential on the development of electrical engineering.
154	* ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines: The invention and proliferation of hypothetical aircraft.
155	* TheTunguskaEvent: A large explosion that happened in the remote Siberian wilderness of the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russian Empire]] in 1908. While believed to be the result of a meteorite, it may have been something more than that...
156	* UnitedEurope: All or most of the nations of Europe have somehow been united under one big empire or federation (for example, a larger and more powerful version of the real-life UsefulNotes/EuropeanUnion).
157	* UnitedNationsIsASuperpower: The UsefulNotes/UnitedNations has somehow become much more powerful than it ever was in reality, exercising actual authority over its member states, if not behaving as a true world government.
158	* VideoGameHistoricalRevisionism
159	* WeDidntStartTheFuhrer: UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was actually (or became) a supernatural being.
160	* WeirdHistoricalWar: A real-life war has strange events happen, which may even be of a supernatural nature.
161	* WeirdWest: TheWildWest, but with strange events and supernatural beings getting involved.
162	* WhatIf: The most common way to start a question asking about how history could have gone differently.
163	* WhoShotJFK: UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's assassination was not just the work of Lee Harvey Oswald, who is said to have been just one actor in a convoluted GovernmentConspiracy.
164	* WorldWarIII: The tentative sequel to the previous two [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI World]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Wars]]. Most WWIII scenarios involve the UsefulNotes/ColdWar between the USA, USSR, China, etc. turning into a hot war that ultimately ends with a [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction global nuclear holocaust]].
165	* WorldWarWhatever: [[RidiculousFutureSequelisation World Wars IV, V, VI, etc]]. May have to be [[MemeticMutation fought with sticks and stones]] [[AfterTheEnd since nothing else was left after WWIII]].
166	* YouWillBeBeethoven: A time-traveler from the future assumed the identity of a historical figure.
167	* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Airships never went out of fashion.
168	[[/index]]

Context Main / AlternateHistoryTropes