What If: The Haitian Revolution had failed?

In 1791 the slaves of the French colony Saint Domingue rose up to cast of their chains of oppression led by Toussaint Louverture. It instantly inspired other slave revolts, established the second state to be independent from Europe in the Americas after the initial wave of colonialism/annexation and remains as a significant section of not only the French Revolution but also world history. What if though the Haitian revolution had failed in its aims of freedom?

First we have to look at why the revolution was a success. One was the widespread support from the slaves and Mulattoes who were treated as second class citizens because only one of their parents was white; normally the father who were rich land owners. The second was the leadership of Toussaint Louverture whose great strategy skills, good education and ability to win the support of Britain and Spain. If France was to defeat the revolutionaries two things would have to have happened: years prior to the revolution the Mulattoes to be given equal rights to the white populace. Although this is unlikely most of the French colonies were to a degree self ruling so if the governor of Haiti decided to gradually give rights to the Mulattoes prior to the Revolution the French government most likely would not have minded as they were free men and not slaves. With the Mulattoes being relatively wealthy they in real life provided much needed resources for the revolution so without it they were more weak. Secondly the leaders of the revolution like Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe just to name a few were all free men so if they were never given freedom for one reason or another the revolution would have a lot less capable leaders so as history has repeatedly shown armies with no capable leaders crumble.

Now the parameters of how the revolution could have been stopped by the French when the Haitian slaves do rise without support from Mulattoes and the lack of good strategists that also supplied a moral boost the French manage to invade Saint Domingue and crush the revolution. Most likely the new revolution leaders would be guillotined as they would be accused of being anti-revolutionary government which would increase the death toll of the Terror. As well as this a large majority of the slave populace would be executed for supporting the revolt so this would scare the now imprisoned slaves into not revolting again. With the revolution crushed there would temporarily be less slave revolts as it inspired slaves throughout the Caribbean, United States and European colonies because the slaves saw that a revolt could be successful but without Haiti setting the precedent no revolts would follow. In this timeline even the shape of the United States would be different. The loss of Haiti and the failure to retake it made the French plantations along the Mississippi unprofitable and so forced Napoleon to sell French possessions to the US in the Louisiana Purchase. With Haiti still under French control this was not a problem so France remained in modern US as well as solidifying France’s impressive might over the Caribbean.

With France not selling their continental possessions the US would never make the Western expansion, Manifest Destiny would never exist and the expansion in Mexico’s territories like California and Texas would never happen thanks to a French colony acting as a buffer zone. Suprisingly Native Americans would have benefited from this as the French were never interested in colonised already colonised land so would allow the Native Americans to live in relative peace although the Natives would have to answer to the laws set in Paris. Like in our timeline Napoleon will lose the Napoleonic Wars, (invading Russia is never a good idea), and by 1848 all the slaves in Haiti are freed and French America gains its independence. Haiti still remains a colony though and remains this way until 1963. Inspired by the Algerians and Viet Minh Haitian nationalists would start to rise against the French again with them making the 1791 revolters as their idols. De Gaulle would give them their independence as he did with Tunisia and Algeria after he establishes a settlement before violence escalates. However one of my most favourite people of all time, Toussaint Louverture would never be heard of by anyone.

Please comment and leave any suggestions of alternate history scenarios or events/people/ideas in history that you want me to discuss.

History in Focus: D-Day

This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day Landings that happened on June 6th 1944 and holds the distinction of being one of the final great acts against Nazi Germany.

What was it?– D-Day was the mass amphibious landings of up to 156,000 Allied troops from Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and resistance groups like the Free French in Normandy on the northern coast of France as apart of Operation Overlord to liberate France from Nazi occupation. The Allies were led by future President Dwight D. Eisenhower while the Germans were put under the control of Erwin Rommel who was charged by Hitler to build the ‘Atlantic Wall’ in France, fortifications to prevent an Allied invasion.

What happened?– Prior to the invasion Britain, America and the USSR started Operation Bodyguard which would intentionally mislead the Nazi high command about where and when the invasion would take place which proved to be successful and possibly saved many more lives. The invasion was meticulously planned, even taking into account tides optimum for landing amphibious vehicles and at 06:30 the invasion took place. The Normandy coast was split into five separate landing areas: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beach. Casualties were massive at 12,000, 4414 of those being killed. However the Allies saw victory and managed to push their way into France.

Why was it so important?– This can be seen as the final nail in the coffin for the Nazis. The Allies were lucky that the Atlantic Wall had yet to be completed so the Normandy Landings ended any chance of the Nazis protecting their occupied territory. It also started the liberation of France. The landing parties soon met up with resistance groups and quickly started to expel the Axis from France bringing the much needed Western Front to the war. It made Hitler now have to fight a war on two fronts which spread the German military too thinly so allowed successive gains for the battle hardened Soviet forces and sowed seeds of rebellion among the German military which allowed for the 20th July Plot against the high command. It also gave a lasting legacy. We can safely say that all the brave men who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy were fighting to end oppression and tyranny, fighting to end a homicidal regime and bring back liberty. With the expulsion of the Nazis from Paris in August of the same year we can safely say that it was not in vain.

A side fact– The invasion could have happened in 1943 but Prime Minister Winston Churchill opposed it saying that the Mediterranean Strategy would work better as it would expose the ‘soft underbelly of the Axis’ however by Tehran he had changed his mind. When the landings took place he even wanted to accompany the troops he was that excited that France was being freed and the only reason that he didn’t was that the King personally told him not to!

End note– The veterans and those who died in D-Day fought for something that we sometimes take for granted. On June 6th they fought for an idea that we are all grateful for in our hearts. For all of us I thank the veterans and those who are not with us for what they fought for. I’m sorry if I’m not neutral but my great grandfather was one of the many to fight in Normandy.

Review: Godzilla (2014)

I am a massive Godzilla fan so I apologise now if I compare this film to the original series constantly. Luckily for fans though this was a film that deserved to be called Godzilla unlike the 1998 Roland Emmerich version which disappointed all Godzilla fans. Gareth Edwards didn’t have to try very hard to surpass the other film but he did show Western audiences who may not have been in contact with Godzilla that he is a force to be reckoned with.

The plot invloves two parasites that fed on the blood of Godzilla’s species millions of years ago that can emitt EMPs growing to gigantic proportions thanks to exposure to radioactive material, which they eat. At the same time Godzilla rises from the sea to do battle with the parasites named MUTO while humanity is caught in the cross fire. Suprisingly the film had a very good plot that was thought out and actually gripped the audience (at least at the beginning and end) however there was a plot hole with how the military planned to destroy the three monsters, (which I won’t say to avoid spoilers) and how they constantly don’t listen to Ken Watanabe’s character who is throughout acknowledged to be an expert on Godzilla. Also the pacing of the middle act is very sloppy and at times dull. This is mainly attributed to the director giving Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen largely underwritten parts and bad dialogue so they struggled to keep the middle act as gripping as the first one. I believe Gareth Edwards tried to copy what he did with Monsters which was entertaining throughout but had good dialogue and character development which if used in Godzilla would make the film much better.

Now the main aspect: Godzilla and the MUTO. First off this is Godzilla. No question. He is just like he is from the Heisei and Millenium series where he is both savior and destroyer at the same time. His introduction though was amazing. A tsunami followed by his raw power emerging from the dust to deliver his roar. Everytime in the film when he roared I was awe struck. He even has his atomic breath! MUTO however is not as impressive. The flying one is well designed but the other one isn’t. When they both appeared I thought they resembled Orga from Godzilla 2000: Millenium but when I saw them closely they resembled more like the Cloverfield monster. James Rolfe on Cinemassacre made a good comment that the monsters in Godzilla, Cloverfield and Super 8 aren’t very inspiring and that they should copy the creativeness of Japanese kaiju like Gigan and Biollante which I fully agree with. Despite this the fighting was amazing. I was glad to see Godzilla fighting another giant monster and the fights had a realistic edge which made them even more enjoyable.

Ken Watanabe and Bryan Cranston were easily the two best actors in the film. All the time on screen it was engaged and transfixed. However I am disappointed that they got little screen time, especially as how much both actors excelled over Olsen and Taylor-Johnson. I just hope in Age of Ultron both Olsen and Taylor-Johnson manage to get into the role with better dialogue. Going back to dialogue Watanabe’s and Cranston’s dialogues were the best by far. The first and last acts were amazing despite the poor middle. It had good pacing, dialogue and suspense but what could be improved was the second city destruction scene. The first scene is partially shown but still gripping as it leaves it to your imagination but the second time was vastly underwhelming, especially it was a city full of iconic places.

In conclusion Godzilla is a must see for both Godzilla fans and non-Godzilla fans. The flaws that I’ve talked about have just as many pros than cons, especially with the opening sequence making it up for the poorly paced middle. The MUTO are interesting albietly uninspired and I think I’m only being harsh on Olsen and Taylor-Johnson as they are out performed by Cranston and Watanabe. I cannot stress how much we needed this film to bring the King back from his ten year slumber and although it is not a good as the likes of the 1954 original, Mothra vs Godzilla or Final Wars it is at least as good as Godzilla Returns, vs Spacegodzilla and 2000. I’ve heard there are sequels in the works to which I hope there will be pushing the bar even higher and hopefully bringing other monsters to the Western audience including Mothra, Rodan and my personal favourite Ghidorah. A must see.

7/10

Also check out from a little reference to Mothra around the 40 minute mark.

Please leave your opinions below, (no spoilers though), and hope you enjoyed it.

What If: The Axis won World War Two? Part 2

Last time we saw that by 1947 in an alternate reality the Axis powers had defeated the Allies except for the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The US would still remain rich and will fund both Indian revoltuionaries fighting the Japanese as well as European nations. In our reality Truman used the Marshall Plan to combat communism but in this one it is against Nazism. The USSR banned its puppets from accepting Marshall Aid so we can assume Hitler would do the same. It is likely that guerilla resistance will still be operating in Britain, France and Russia making life hell for the Nazis while the systematic purges and bookburnings take place. Hitler would make puppet states of the defeated nations of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain and Yugoslavia with loyal governments installed. For example the leader of the British Union of Fascists Oswald Mosely would be made Prime Minister and Edward VII would be remade King due to his Nazi sympathies so with a king loyal to Hitler the public would be more loyal to the Reich.

In 1949 to America’s dismay the Nazis detonate the ‘Keisar Bomb’ which is their first nuclear bomb. The Nazis research into nuclear warheads was lacking but with the annexation of the USSR they would obtain bomb secrets and from the notes the Rosenburgs had given to the Russians about the US bomb so they had accidentally given the Nazis the bomb. An arms race would then develop between the US and Reich but with the Nazis rocket knowledge they would quickly send a man to space and in 1965 put a man on the moon. The US would then beat the Nazis to the next goal by placing a man on Mars before the end of the Space Race. At the same time the US would be funding anti-fascist groups throughout the world so the likes of Batista would not come to power. In our timeline Japan placed natives in govenor roles like in Indonesia so they would do the same in Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as Govenor. This would be very bad for them as now Ho Chi Minh would have a massive voice to spread nationalism and his Viet Minh would revolt against the Japanese before gaining independence with fascist North Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem and the South under Ho Chi Minh.

The civil rights movement would be more well received in the US than our lifetime as the urge to differ themselves from the Reich the government would be more willing to give unions, African Americans, women and homosexuals more rights. HUAC would be aimed at fascists and Nazis instead of socialist and communists. Hitler had a very weak heart so in 1953 he would die of a heart attack to be replaced by Martin Bormann but Bormann was very unpopular with all the high command and would be ousted in a coup similarly to how Khrushchev was ousted but this time in 1955 to be replaced by Goebbels. An alternate Missile Crisis would take place but in Haiti with Paul Magloire seizing power. JFK instead is assassinated by a Nazi sympathiser instead of a Communist one but as the US doesn’t get involved in the Vietnam War, (where the Nazis and Italians send troops to help Diem), LBJ’s Great Society is a success and more right wing politicians like Nixon are not elected. Japan becomes the third power block then in the Cold War with them being angry about Goebbels more racist stance.

By 1991 the Third Reich would collapse. Already it was shrouded with controversy with US spy planes taking pictures of the camps and deportation camps. Slowly as well the crimes would come out like using prisoners as test subjects for weapons. This would end trade with them damaging the economy. The Nazi economy was based on war production and the Four Year Plan ruined the economy and forced Hitler into war so it is understandable that a similar thing would happen so the economy would start to crumble. In Italy, the Reich and their puppets people would start to protest with the increasing globalisation in the 1980s and groups like the Edelweiss Pirates would become popular again. Slowly Britain, France and other nations break away from the Nazis; Britain becoming a republic. The Reich and Italian Empires will collapse similarly to how the USSR did thus ending the Cold War.

Thanks for reading and please leave any comments. Also if you want to see any alternate histories please say and I’m going to do my first movie review soon so please feel free to post what film you want me to review in the future.

What If: The Axis won World War Two? Part 1

With Wolfenstein: The New Order out I thought I would do my own spin on the subject. However if the Axis were to win the war realistically multiple things would have to have occurred differently to out timeline. In May 1940 the Nazis Blitzkrieg tactics had overwhelmed France and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wanted to send the RAF, (Royal Air Force), to help the beleaguered French. In our timeline the RAF leader Hugh Dowding refused to send spitfires knowing rightly that the French were done for but in this alternate one Dowding buckles and sends planes to help the French but most of the planes are lost. The Battle of Britain relied on the British not sending planes to France so with most of the RAF destroyed in Dunkirk and Normandy the Luftwaffe win the Battle of Britain, albiet with many losses. Goering then orders the Luftwaffe to destroy the British radar. Hitler then commences Operation Sealion and the Nazis invade the Isle of Wight but for now the German invasion of Britain is halted.

In our timeline Churchill underestimated the Japanese so sent more troops to Africa than Asia but in this timeline with Hitler directly on Churchill’s doorstep more troops are diverted to Europe. Indochina, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Burma fall in 1941 instead of 1941. Similarly with more troops diverted to Britain Rommel and the Italians sweep up in Africa and capture Suez. In 1941 Hess makes his flight to Scotland knowing about Hitler’s next plan. However Heydrich will lead Barbarossa with Churchill to distracted by Goerings bombing campaigns and now German landings in Cornwall to have Czech resistance trained to assassinate their butcherer. Hitler commences Barbarossa taking Stalin off guard but this time he eliminates bureaucracy so troops are well supplied and skips attacking Stalingrad to attack Moscow and the oil fields of the Caucauses instead. With this the Soviets are pushed back. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor brining the US into the war and the Grand Alliance is formed between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin.

The US do their island hopping tactic to great success and with the winning of the Battle of Midway Japan starts to be pushed back but no Mediterranean Campaign that the Allies used happens with Moscow falling by late 1944 and Britain’s capital relocating to Newcastle in 1943 after London falls and Churchill is killed in an air raid destroying St Pauls Cathedral as well. The Royal family flees to Canada before appointing Clement Attlee Prime Minister. Japan strains its forces invading India and initially nationalists are pleased by this until Gandhi is murdered peacefully resisting occupation starting the Indian War of Independence lasting until 1947. Nationalist China then falls but the Japanese cannot defeat Mao’s Communists. Spain enters the Axis annexing Gibralter while Italy inavdes Malta and Cyprus in 1945 with a joint Italian/German invasion of Iran the same year to take the oil fields after the Shah refuses to trade with the Axis after the Allies had virtually ran the nation dry.

In 1944 the 20th July Plot still takes place with many generals angry at how Hitler had failed to take Britain and the USSR with his eratic leadership and constant meddling in the army left it severly weakened over the last few years. This is especially spurred on with the Kreisau Circle leaking to them details of the Holocaust so the plotters planned to end the regime to stop the genocide. Again it fails and many are murdered such as Claus von Stauffenberg and Rommel. Hitler again uses this as an excuse to meddle more in the army.

More sinisterly the Wannsee Conference takes place but many more people die in camps. With Britain and the USSR falling this dooms millions more Jews, leftists, homosexuals and many more to the hands of the Nazis but the purges are never found out so over 20million are systematically murdered in the camps. Britain falls in December 1945 so Truman signs a peace agreement with the European Axis powers. The Manhatten Project still happens in this reality and with the US capturing Okinawa with great expense of life two atom bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With war weariness from India and the Americans and months of bombing of cities from the Americans Japan signs a peace deal. They declare war on the USSR in March 1946 losing few soldiers to revitalise moral as by this time the Red Army had collapsed and they succeed in taking Sakhalin.

Thanks for reading and please comment. I will be doing a follow up showing the world after the April Agreement ending World War Two and the start of an alternate Cold War. Hope you enjoyed.

What If: The Godzilla movies actually happened?

With the new Godzilla movie out now and being a big fan of the King of the Kaiju myself I’ve decided to see what would our planet be like if Godzilla and his friends and foes actually existed. (Note: I’m not delving into how they actually could exist as the surface area to volume ratio of a kaiju meant that one could not physical exist nevermind the atomic breath).

Let’s start with the first film from 1954. Godzilla would rise from the sea and lay waste to Tokyo before being destroyed by Dr Serizawa’s Oxygen Destroyer after the military had failed to destroy him. The aftermath would be devastating: the Japanese economy destroyed, millions dead and many more irridated from the monster’s radiation to die in agony. Godzilla’s radiation would wipe out all the fishing industry on the East coast causing a mass famine. More religious people would see Godzilla as retribution for Japan’s actions in World War 2, (a little GMK reference for those who has seen the film). The US and UN would have to send aid to Japan to reduce the famine while mass unrest would generate from the lack of action against the monster. With Tokyo destroyed and radioactive the capital would have to be moved to Osaka.

Cut to Godzilla Raids Again a year later. Mass panic ensues as everyone on the beach rushes inland. However Godzilla is joined by Anguirus and all hope is lost. The two monster’s battle in Osaka leaves the city to waste before Anguirus bleeds out and Godzilla is frozen in ice. Now everyone is worried with three kaiju created by nuclear energy which sends anti-nuclear protests throughout the world and ends the Cold War with the USA and USSR preparing for another kaiju attack. With all of Toho’s monsters living in the same world Japan would then be relentlessly attacked by the likes of Rodan, Mothra and Varan. When Godzilla resurfaces in 1962 almost all of Japan has been destroyed by monsters so instead of publicity King Kong is brought as a weapon to fight Godzilla instead.

Throughout the sixties and seventies with the aliens using monsters like Ghidrah and Gigan to destroy the cities it is not Japan being attacked. With the little amounts of people there the aliens have no reason to attack Japan so instead target other Pacific cities like Beijing, San Francisco and Seoul. The world economy crashes as everything is thrown at saving civilisation and after the battle with Mechagodzilla the Mecha programme is founded based on Jet Jaguar’s and Mechagodzilla’s tech.

After the last battle with Mechagodzilla Godzilla does not resurface until the 1980s. Now the global economy has rebuilt but Japan is wary of another kaiju attack. The Hesei battles destroy the cities again and the world is once more united but this time behind Mechagodzilla 2, Mothra and MOGUERA. After the battle with Desotroyah and the death of the second Godzilla his son disappears for a while. Three years later Zilla attackes New York causing a major panic as now a non-Pacific city is attacked but the US overestimate the kaiju’s power and is dismissed as not being the actual Godzilla. We now come to Destroy All Monsters (remember it is set in 1999) and every major city is destroyed by the kaiju and the actual Godzilla destroys New York. The Millenium wave of attacks completely ends the world economy with the final hope of humanity being in the reactivated Atragon. With it only managing to kill Manda at the start of Final Wars and its destruction at the end means that humanity has lost. The lack of large cities means that the attacks stop but it comes with humanity becoming nomadic in certain areas and as Heisenberg rightly put it ‘sent us back to the Stone Age’.

So Godzilla in reality would destory humanity while all that Gamera would acheive would be saving a few kids and having a catchy theme song. To be honest Godzilla’s was better having the Blue Oyster Cult do his.

What if: The PRC never used force at Tiananmen Square?

From the 15th April to June 4th 1989 one of the major events of the Cold War in Asia took place. Students and intellectuals protested in Beijing and 300 other Chinese cities peacefully protested against the government’s treatment of the deceased Hu Yaobang, political corruption, human rights abuse and nepotism from the PRC’s leader Deng Xiaoping. On June 4th Type 59 tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square with one single man, ‘The Tank Man’, standing in their wake. The protests ultimetly ended with the highest estimated death toll at 6,000. However what would have happened if the Communist Politburo elite hadn’t decided to use force?

I see two scenarios. The first is that there is a political crisis. Martial law is not enforced and the protestors gain more and more support from the Chinese populace and the USA. Possible in some of the major cities riots even break out. With more and more pro-democracy supporters gaining control there is a cabinet reshuffle and instead of the moderates like Zhao Ziyang being purged from the party the hardliners are forced to step down. Like in our timeline Jiang Zemin would be major in Chinese politics but overall the public become pro-democracy. Zemin and Ziyang would continue their reforms and like in Gorbachev’s USSR freedom of speech is less repressed. However the students who organised the protest like Chai Ling would become major political activists who would still protest against the Maoist dictatorship which would be spurred on by increasing Western influence and the fall of the USSR in 1991. Around 1996 the PRC would have to hold its first non-corrupt election to which the Communist party would lose ending the PRC and possibly seeing reunification with Taiwan.

The second is much more deadly: Civil War. The country would be split into hardline Maoists and the new pro-democracy revolutionaries. Personally, (feel free to disagree), I believe the democray supporters would win with the USSR unwilling to send troops, the overall sympathy the public has to the revolutionaries after years of Communist rule and support from the USA, Japan and South Korea. Most likely in this scenario separatist movements in Tibet, Turkestan and Xinjiang would aid the democracy supporters, winning their independence after the war but Xinjiang’s and Turkestan’s would be challenged similarly to how Russia has challenged Ukraine’s (cough cough Putin). The new democratic nation would hail Hu Yaobang and Sun Yat-sen as the heros of China but the country would be suffering from huge loss of life and economic burden from the intense civil war.

Thanks for reading and please comment about the scenario and give your opinions as well as other scenarios you want. This is my first time blogging so I will happily take any suggestions to improve.

A Bit About Me and the Blog

Hello my name is Lewis Twiby. I come from Doncaster, South Yorkshire in the UK and you can find me on twitter @lewistwiby, on steam under the name mortalkombat247 and fanfiction.net under mortalkombat247.

On this blog I aim to delve into alternate history so please leave any suggestions of an alternate history scenario that you want to see. I aim to be apolitical on this blog so not to offend anyone but a few historical figures are definitely up for criticism; mainly bloodthirsty dictators. I will also be posting movie and game reviews as well as anyother thing that springs to mind related to the sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres. I will also analyse key historical events and delve into another great love of mine: paleontology.

I hope you enjoy and please leave any comments!