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Reading "If It Had Happened Otherwise" a collection of alternate history essays written in 1931. Mainly bought it for Winston Churchill's "If Lee Had Not The Battle of Gettysburg" and I do not think Winston Churchill understood the American Civil War. It is actually a double alternate history, written from the perspective of a historian in a world where Lee won Gettysburg, writing about our history as if it was alternate history. In the essay, Lee wins Gettysburg, marches on Washington and then unilaterally ends slavery, which is certainly an assertion, given slavery was written into the Confederate constitution, also given that Lee fought a lawsuit to not free slaves he inherited. But after this, Britain drops its objections to supporting the Confederacy and intercedes to force a peace. At some point this shift causes Disraeli to become a Liberal, Gladstone to become a Tory, and the US, the UK and the Confederacy to become an economic union of English speaking states. This union then heads off World War 1 before it kicks off. I really don't think Winston Churchill understood the American Civil War. edit: also shoutouts to Philip Guedalla, when I saw he wrote "If the Moors in Spain had Won" I expected the worst Islamophobia, but it's kinda utopian, Granada becomes a center of enlightened thought and a refuge for free thinkers in Europe, and when an analogue to WW1 kicks off they end up in control of Iberia. No shoutouts to GK Chesterton for being really really racist against Turks in his essay. TaurusTorus fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Mar 3, 2024 |
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Mar 3, 2024 18:13
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 09:18 |
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