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5 | [[quoteright:350:[[Film/CSATheConfederateStatesOfAmerica https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/csa_movieposter.jpg]]]] |
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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]] |
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