1812: Alternative Divergence [AH][OOC-DEAD]

[The Imperial Warglorian Empire]

National Goals: Abroad, it seeks to maintain cordial-to-warm relations with Germany

How is a pagan formerly viking empire's supposed to keep cordial relations with a Protestant yet nonetheless still Christian Germany?

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

How is a pagan formerly viking empire's supposed to keep cordial relations with a Protestant yet nonetheless still Christian Germany?

The Northern Crusades are centuries in the past and the Commonwealth of this day and age is more-or-less religiously tolerant. As long as the Christian nations make no serious effort to convert it the Commonwealth is perfectly happy to return the favour.

...and come right down to it, the Commonwealth prefers dealing with the more independent Protestant or Anglican churches of northern Europe to dealing with the universalist intransigence of Rome or Constantinople.

[Tracian Empire]

Pretty miraculous, for a Pagan kingdom to survive in Christian Europe for this long while still retaining a formidable amount of power.

Assuming that the Scandinavian crusades failed, it is one of the alternative history points that are often used.

Of course, Scandinavia would most likely be viewed with suspicion/hostility by large parts of Christian Europe.

[Tracian Empire]

How is a pagan formerly viking empire's supposed to keep cordial relations with a Protestant yet nonetheless still Christian Germany?

The Northern Crusades are centuries in the past and the Commonwealth of this day and age is more-or-less religiously tolerant. As long as the Christian nations make no serious effort to convert it the Commonwealth is perfectly happy to return the favour.

...and come right down to it, the Commonwealth prefers dealing with the more independent Protestant or Anglican churches of northern Europe to dealing with the universalist intransigence of Rome or Constantinople.

Well, ironically enough, Constantinople wouldn't necessarily mind that much. The Orthodox Church is completely subservient to the Emperor, and the Emperor wants his Varangians. While it's likely that much in real life, the guard would have switched to a predominantly Anglo-Saxon and later Norman composition, Scandinavians would still to the present be welcome in the guard.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Scandinavians would still to the present be welcome in the guard.

Unlike in previous iterations where I played a more inwards-looking and nationalistic Scandinavia, I can see the Commonwealth of this Alternative Divergence eagerly working with the Romans on that. Unlike the last time, this Commonwealth doesn't have any colonies, so a big portion of its overseas influence comes from having its people in the right places to talk to important people. Good place to catch rumours coming out of all those other countries that the Varangians recruit from, too.

I imagine life is hell for whatever poor Roman official is in charge of weeding out suspicious characters out of new Varangian recruits.

[Tracian Empire]

Scandinavians would still to the present be welcome in the guard.

Unlike in previous iterations where I played a more inwards-looking and nationalistic Scandinavia, I can see the Commonwealth of this Alternative Divergence eagerly working with the Romans on that. Unlike the last time, this Commonwealth doesn't have any colonies, so a big portion of its overseas influence comes from having its people in the right places to talk to important people. Good place to catch rumours coming out of all those other countries that the Varangians recruit from, too.

I imagine life is hell for whatever poor Roman official is in charge of weeding out suspicious characters out of new Varangian recruits.

And it just occurred to me that you are Plzen

I initially assumed that you were one of the Scandinavian players that I had forgotten, before randomly seeing your signature xD

Well, the Roman intelligence/secret service of sorts, the angeliaphóroi, are in charge of screening all potential recruits, so they would have a difficult job. But the Varangians are incredibly well played and very steeped in tradition, so the risk of doing something nefarious is a bit too large for most people. Add to that a rivalry to the native Roman guards, the Scholae Palatinae, and things are generally kept in line.

[Old Tyrannia]

Reservation

Nation Name: United Italian Duchies and the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia (Italian: I Ducati Italiani Uniti e gli Stati di Sua Maestà il Re di Sardegna)
Territory: RL territories of the Duchy of Savoy (inc. Sardinia), the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Milan, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena, the Duchy of Parma and the Republic of Lucca
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: United Italian Duchies and the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia (Italian: I Ducati Italiani Uniti e gli Stati di Sua Maestà il Re di Sardegna)
Territory: RL territories of the Duchy of Savoy (inc. Sardinia), the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Milan, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena, the Duchy of Parma and the Republic of Lucca
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Long time no see xD

Reservation accepted!

[Deblar]

Updated my app

[Alt Div Admin]

Map and list have been updated, Russia is now open for grabs

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Introductory IC post up! Don't have anything I want to do now right off the bat, so I just put up a meh post with no real content just to set the thematic atmosphere in place.

Sorry for using your capital and all, Trace, but I needed a big foreign city to get this idea off the ground and yours was just sitting there, available. :p

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Map and list have been updated,

Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands don't seem to be coloured in properly.

[Tracian Empire]

Map and list have been updated,

Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands don't seem to be coloured in properly.

My bad

I had some issues with the coloring and restarted the process, forgot to add them

And I certainly don't mind having Constantinople used, the post looks quite epic, I gotta read it xD

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

I had some issues with the coloring and restarted the process, forgot to add them

No problem; thanks. Looks all good now.

And I certainly don't mind having Constantinople used, the post looks quite epic, I gotta read it xD

I hope you like it. :) I'm a little pressed for time at the moment so I had to rush the second half of that post, and it shows. >_>;; Ah well.

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name : Republic of Florida

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

• Any particular reason for a Buddhist presence in Florida?
• Florida would probably not be industrializing unless you can find a foreign sponsor, so it would overall be Pre-Industrial. You might have some workshops or mills privately build in your cities, but the Industrial Revolution is still in its early stages throughout the world.
• You should fix the BB Code issues.
• I will need a few more military details. Neither Julio Hernandez de Santa Ann, nor Henry Jackson seem to have been real life figures, so their presence as leaders of the army and navy respectively isn't telling me much. What kind of leadership do they have? How do they train their men, what are their tactics? What's the size and purpose of the army and the navy? Stuff like that.

[Tracian Empire]

I had some issues with the coloring and restarted the process, forgot to add them

No problem; thanks. Looks all good now.

And I certainly don't mind having Constantinople used, the post looks quite epic, I gotta read it xD

I hope you like it. I'm a little pressed for time at the moment so I had to rush the second half of that post, and it shows. >_>;; Ah well.

It shows? The post is amazing, I love it xD

If you want to do future posts in Constantinople we could work on a plot together, or at the very least, you've inspired me to try to write a post about the Varangians and about the Angeliaphóroi/Messengers, the evolution of the agentes in rebus.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

If you want to do future posts in Constantinople we could work on a plot together,

Ahah; if you have any plotlines in mind, definitely let me know. Given that I've set up an intrigue-focused naval-heavy nation concept, I'm probably going to need to work on collaborative plots if I want to do anything. :p

or at the very least, you've inspired me to try to write a post about the Varangians and about the Angeliaphóroi/Messengers, the evolution of the agentes in rebus.

I'm glad. :)

[Deblar]

Full Nation Name : Republic of Florida

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

• Any particular reason for a Buddhist presence in Florida?
• Florida would probably not be industrializing unless you can find a foreign sponsor, so it would overall be Pre-Industrial. You might have some workshops or mills privately build in your cities, but the Industrial Revolution is still in its early stages throughout the world.
• You should fix the BB Code issues.
• I will need a few more military details. Neither Julio Hernandez de Santa Ann, nor Henry Jackson seem to have been real life figures, so their presence as leaders of the army and navy respectively isn't telling me much. What kind of leadership do they have? How do they train their men, what are their tactics? What's the size and purpose of the army and the navy? Stuff like that.

App updated again, fixed the issues you pointed out(I think)

[Tracian Empire]

• Any particular reason for a Buddhist presence in Florida?
• Florida would probably not be industrializing unless you can find a foreign sponsor, so it would overall be Pre-Industrial. You might have some workshops or mills privately build in your cities, but the Industrial Revolution is still in its early stages throughout the world.
• You should fix the BB Code issues.
• I will need a few more military details. Neither Julio Hernandez de Santa Ann, nor Henry Jackson seem to have been real life figures, so their presence as leaders of the army and navy respectively isn't telling me much. What kind of leadership do they have? How do they train their men, what are their tactics? What's the size and purpose of the army and the navy? Stuff like that.

App updated again, fixed the issues you pointed out(I think)

I do not know the tactics of George Washington or of John Paul Jones, so instead of talking so much about your commanders, you should describe what the purpose and objective of your army and navy are. Similarly, at least a rough mention of their size and equipment would be necessary.

[Deblar]

Updated again

[Tracian Empire]

Updated again

You shouldn't rush updates like this. So guerrila tactics for the army, alright, although there probably is a spelling mistake in there ("see by larger militaries"), but the army size is way too much. 90,000 men is nearly 10 percent of your total population, your entire economy would collapse.

But the naval description doesn't particularly tell me much either. How large is the navy? Is it defensive or offensive?

[Draos]

*whistles* also for your General to have fought in the war of the Hispanic war of Succession he'd have to be around 300 years old considering it took place in the 1530s

[Deblar]

Updated again

You shouldn't rush updates like this. So guerrila tactics for the army, alright, although there probably is a spelling mistake in there ("see by larger militaries"), but the army size is way too much. 90,000 men is nearly 10 percent of your total population, your entire economy would collapse.

But the naval description doesn't particularly tell me much either. How large is the navy? Is it defensive or offensive?

*whistles* also for your General to have fought in the war of the Hispanic war of Succession he'd have to be around 300 years old considering it took place in the 1530s

Noted and noted

[Deblar]

App updated

[Intermountain States]

Full Nation Name : Empire of the Great Joseon, 대조선제국, 大朝鮮帝國
Majority/Official Culture : Korean
Territorial Core : Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island
Territorial Claim : North America, India, Manchuria
Capital City : Hanseong (Seoul)
Population :17,000,000 in Korea Proper
1,000,000 in Korean Ceylon
200,000 in Korean North America
140,000 in Hawaii
300,000 spread across Korean East Indies,
8,600 in Korean Aden
5,000 in Korean East Africa

Government Type : Enlightened Semi-Constitutional Monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies : Imperialism, Militarism, Colonialism, Silhak
Government Focus : Joseon's government is focused on ensuring that there would never be a repeat of many foreign invasions of Korea that brought the country or almost brought the country to its knees such as the Mongol invasion of Goryeo, the First Wei invasion of Joseon, and the Japanese invasion of Joseon. That would mean ensuring a balance of power in the East, place heavy emphasis on military and diplomatic strength, gather strong allies, and utilizing resources from Joseon's colonial empire. Internal development is also at a focus with passing of political and economic reforms to improve the lives of the general public.
Head of State : Emperor Yi San/Honghui Emperor
Head of Government : Prime Minister Kim Myeong-nyeong
Government Description : The Emperor rules for life, unlike any of his appointees and members of the Assembly and all Emperors of Joseon descends from the Imperial House of Yi (Jeongju Yi Clan) since its foundation. The Emperor commands absolute loyalty from his officials and subjects, but officials are expected to try to guide the Emperor to the right path if the latter was mistaken and Emperors are usually sensitive to public opinions. The Emperor's cabinet is called the State Council and is the highest organ of government in Joseon right below the Emperor. Supposedly, the Phoenix Throne holds major power in the government with the Ministries/State Council serving as the advisory board but powers of the the Emperor and the Prime change over time with some Emperors serving as absolute monarchs while others leave daily agendas to the Ministries. The bureaucratic element of the government is dominated by Confucian scholars who enter service in the government through the civil service exam. All officials are expected to have passed a series of literary and psychological tests that determine their ability to serve the empire. Theoretically, anyone, excluding women, can take the civil service exams but only the wealthy have the money to afford preparations for the exams. However, seeing a lowborn take and pass the exams are not uncommon and are often celebrated in stories.

As part of recent reforms by the Honghui Emperor, a national legislative body was established called the Central Assembly, divided into the House of Peers and the House of Delegates. The House of Peers is made up of the aristocracy while the House of Delegates were made up of elected officials throughout the country. The House of Delegates is lead by the Prime Minister who also serves in the Emperor's cabinet and holds some powers and the House of Delegates is the chamber responsible for the passing of laws while the House of Peers scrutinizes the legislations passed by the House of Delegates. Suffrage for the House of Delegates is limited to literate men and much of the adult population are kept out of the political process. As with the new reforms, the newly formed Imperial Assembly consists of two major parties: the Norons made up of conservative scholars and the gentry and the Silhaks consisting of liberal minded scholars and the merchant class.

Majority/State Religion : The country is largely irreligious with Neo-Confucianism being the state ideology. However, Christianity, especially both Catholicism and Orthadoxy, became the fastest growing religion in Korea. The growth of Christianity lead to the Imperial government to declare religious freedom with no religions favored nor restricted by government.
Religious Description : [[OPTIONAL]]

Economic Ideologies : Capitalism
Major Production : Although agriculture remains as a major industry in the Korean mainland, the peninsula is known for their silk and porcelain production throughout Northeast Asia. Since industrialization, natural resources such as coal, iron, and sulfer are also produced in the Korean mainland. Korean Ceylon and Korean East Indies operate on a plantation economy while the colonies in East Africa, Aden, and North America are home to trading outposts and hunting/fishing. Recently, North America is becoming a place of interest as settlement into Korean North America grew with formations of self-sustaining colonies.
Economic Description : The economy of Joseon has been diversified thanks to more liberal elements of Confucian scholars and the growing merchant class embracing various economic reforms in favor of trade, capitalism, banking, and industrialization. The northern half of the Korean peninsula is an industrial center of Joseon while the southern half of the peninsula is a place of agriculture and international trade. Korea is also internationally famous for their quality silk and porcelain productions. With its Korea became the nation that funnels Eastern trade to Europe (or at least to the Roman Empire).

Development: Industrializing
Development Description : Joseon embraced industrialization and is in the process of industrialization, mostly limited to the resource rich northern half of the peninsula although some factories were constructed in the agrarian heavy south. Efforts were made in the mainland for the government to take an active role in building up the nation's education, healthcare, and welfare system. However, education is still a matter done by private institutions, churches, and temples.

Army Description : The aftermath of the Mongol invasion of Goryeo, the Wei Invasion of Joseon in 1454 to 1455, and the seven year Japanese Invasion of Joseon that ended in 1599, saw Joseon placing more emphasis on the military than ever before. The Joseon military also enjoys the backing of powerful artillery and rocketry made to decimate enemy lines. The Imperial Army stands at around 127,000 with 58,000 soldiers stationed in the stationed in the northern half of Korea, 53,000 stationed in the southern half, and 16,000 across Joseon's various colonies, with more being abled to called up during wartime. The numbers of Joseon's soldiers in the colonies aren't numerically equal with the more populated territories and colonies given more attention in comparison to the trading outposts in Africa and Arabia.
Army Weakness : The army, while well equipped and modern, is very much a static force. Joseon cannot afford to use it to project force, fearing doing so would expose Joseon to a potential Wei or Japanese invasion. Furthermore, the army, while well drilled, has not seen active combat in quite some time, and this likely would show on the battlefield. Much of Joseon's imperial endeavors were instead done by the Imperial Navy.
Naval Description : The Navy of Joseon is the pride of the nation, large, modern, and well equipped. The Imperial Navy, rather than the Army, is the force that projects Joseon's prowess in the international stage. The Imperial Navy stands at a size of 51,000 men, including 23,000 marines. Improving on the Navy has been one of the major priorities of the Joseon Empire ever since the Imjin War, believing that a strong navy is absolute necessity in the nation's defense. The Joseon Imperial Navy started off in the 17th to 18th century by modifying old ships with new technologies. However by the 1750s, much of the old ships were retired and in came newer ships with better armor, transportation, and armaments; incorporating western and eastern designs for the Navy. Composition of the Imperial Navy is 14 ship of the lines, 28 sloops, 20 brigantines, 39 frigates, and 23 schooners.
Naval Weakness : The Imperial Navy has focused much of its research traversing across both the Indian and Pacific ocean and with the difficulty of traversing the Pacific, the Joseon Imperial Navy is split into five fleets and usually could never realize their full prowess in a multi-front war, creating a fear of a divide and conquer situation for the Navy.
Further Military Description : Militias known as the Righteous Army have appeared several times throughout the history of Korea when the national armies were in need of assistance against foreign invaders ever since the Khitan invasion of Goryeo and lately the Japanese invasion of Joseon in 1592. Peasants, scholars, former government officials, religious monks, merchants, anyone regardless of background made up such militias. While most of these righteous armies are equipped with hunting equipment and farming tools rather than state-of-the-art weapons employed by the Imperial Army, the irregular militias make up for their equipment shortcomings with patriotic fervor and knowledge of home terrain. Settler colonies in in North America tend to operate colonial militias in addition to the colonial regulars and trading companies in Ceylon and Southeast Asia operate their own fighting force made up of indigenous and settler soldiers not too dissimilar to European trading companies.

National Goals : Consolidate and expand colonial holdings in North America and develop greater relations between the civilized empires under the heaven to maintain a balance of power.
National Issues : Despite many efforts at reforms, there exists some animosity between the conservative Confucian aristocracy and the growing merchant class influenced by Christianity.
National Figures of Interest : King Sejong the Great, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, King Imjong, Yeunheung Emperor
National Ambition/Aspirations :

History :
The 474 year old Kingdom of Goryeo was overthrown by Yi Seonggye (King Taejo) of the Jeonju Yi clan. With both military and public support behind him, Yi Seonggye declares the formation of the Kingdom of Joseon and ensured his dynasty's survival, sending envoys to Ming to ask for legitimacy and exiling remnants of the Goryeo family to Jeju Island. The reign of Taejo Seong-gye saw conflict between his sons over succession rights and after an attempt by military officials and his fifth-born son Yi Bang-won in a military coup, declared his second born son Yi Bang-gwa (temple name Jeongjong) as his successor and abdicated the throne in 1398. Jeongjong was an abled ruler but abdicated after two years of seeing bloodshed between his brothers Crown Prince Yi Bang-won and Yi Bang-gan. Yi Bang-won (Taejong) became King right after, setting forth changes made to ensure that Joseon would be an absolute monarchy instead of a constitutional monarchy planned by his predecessors. Taejong's rise to power was a bloody affair but he proved to be a just and abled ruler, building up national defense and encouraging reforms that improved on the daily lives of the people and limited privileges of the aristocracy. Taejong was succeeded by his third born son Yi Do (immortalized as Sejong the Great) as the fourth King of Joseon. Sejong's reign was marked by various reforms that benefited Joseon. Sejong opened government positions to people of various social classes; encouraged innovation in the fields of science, technology, military, and agriculture; and pushed for the use of the hangul writing system to improve literacy. Sejong was also an interventionist, having sent troops to Tsushima Island to quell the pirate activities and ultimately ended with the island sending tributes to the Korean peninsula. In response to the emboldened border attacks by the Jurchens, Sejong initiated campaigns to pacify the north, building castles across the Amnok (Yalu) River and built settlements south of Amnok.

After Sejong's death in 1450, he was succeeded by his son, Yi Hyang (Munjong) who died just 2 years after being coronated (most of his achievements came when he was a crown prince). Munjong's successor, Yi Hong-wi (Danjong) was only 12 years old when he ascended to the throne and executive responsibilities fell to Chief State Councilor Hwangbo In and Left State Councillor General Kim Jong-seo. One year into his reign, Hong-wi's uncle Yi Yu, also known as Grand Prince Suyang, launched a coup that toppled the regent government and acted as Hong-wi's caretaker. In the late 1440s and early 1450s, the Tatar Wei Dynasty consolidated power over much of Northern China and Manchuria and demanded Joseon to leave the Southern Ming's sphere of influence and into Wei's tributary system in 1454. The Joseon government refused and war broke out between Wei and Joseon. After months of fighting and suffering losses after losses, Joseon surrendered to Wei and entered Wei's sphere of influence. In 1455, Suyang forced Hong-wi to abdicate and was crowned king. While demoted to a prince, Hong-wi still received his title and was posthumously given the temple name Danjong. Despite Suyang overseeing numerous opposition killed for power grab, including his nephew Danjong; he was a strong and able ruler, encouraging publication of history, economics, agricultural, and religious books and was given the temple name Sejo. When Sejo passed away in 1468, his son succeeded him as Yejong of Joseon but died a year later. He was succeeded by his nephew, Yi Hyeol, who became Seongjong of Joseon. Seongjong's reign was marked by growth and prosperity in Joseon. Seonjong passed away at 1494 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Prince Yeongsangun. Although Yeongsangun showed promise as an abled ruler, he grew insane and became a tyrant, soon overthrown and replaced by his half-brother who became Jungjong of Joseon. Jungjong's reign was marked by both internal purges and support for reforms and was ultimately a mixed bag ruler. Jungjong was succeeded by his son who became King Injong. Injong was an ambitious king who attempted to continue Jungjong's failed reforms but was poisoned by his stepmother and was succeeded by his half-brother who became King Myeongjong in 1545.

Myeongjong's reign was marked by a power struggle between his mom Queen Munjeong and his uncle Yun Won-hyeong along with rebellions and invasion from Japanese pirates. Myeongjong died in 1567 without a male heir and was succeeded by his half-nephew Yi Yeon as Seonjo of Joseon. Seonjo focused on improving the lives of the common people and introduced various political and economic reforms and his early reign was marked by growth and prosperity. The Royal Court believed that the current peace and prosperity experienced would continue and some officials talked of easing military burden on the populace. That changed when Joseon was invaded in 1592 by Japan. Although Joseon forces fought valiantly with their cannons, handguns, and archery; they were outgunned by muskets operated by the Japanese and the Royal Court fled to Pyongyang when Japanese troops were close to Hanseong. The Royal Court sent envoys to Wei to ask for military support. That is not to say that there was no hope for the kingdom; military successes at the seas by Admiral Yi Sun-sin hampered Japanese supply lines and guerilla warfare conducted by informal militias known as the Righteous Army provided morale boosts for the Joseon military. During the war, Joseon engineers, at the support of King Seonjo, managed to develop and incorporate muskets into its ranks. Soon the Joseon-Wei coalition retook captured provinces and inflict heavy damage on the tired Japanese forces. In 1599, Japan withdrew from the peninsula. Although Joseon was spared from initial Japanese imperial ambitions, the country itself was ravaged by seven long years of warfare. Seonjo, devasted by the toll of the war, withdrew from politics and left behind Crown Prince Yi Hon, also known as Prince Gwanghae, to rule in his stead.

Gwanghae focused on rebuilding the devasted kingdom by keeping much of the reforms left by former Prime Minister Yu Seung-ryong to spur market and agricultural growth. He also reformed the country's defenses with setting up dedicated gunpowder offices to improve on designs based on gunpowder weapons such as cannons, hwachas, and muskets. Gwanghae was ambitious with his military reforms. Some of his reasonings for military expansions were based more on Joseon as a self-reliant power that would be independent from Wei or Japanese interventions with a potential for Joseon to have an Emperor rather than a king. The Royal Navy was given more attention as Gwanghae saw potential in Joseon as a naval power and funded official travels to the Indian Ocean, laying the foundation for future Korean expansion. However, he was a realist and knew that Joseon would not survive on its own if isolated and pushed to open Korea to the world. He continued Seonjo's new friendly relations with Wei as gratitude for their help in the war, opened relations with Zhu, and restored diplomatic relations with Japan. By the end of his reign, he left Joseon recovered and stabilized, perhaps much more powerful than before and received the temple name of Imjong. However, most of his sons died due to sickness (or political assassinations) and he passed away without an heir in 1641. To ensure survival of the Yi family, court officials selected the son of Prince Neungyang (son of Imjong's half-brother Prince Jeongwon), Prince Sohyeon as the next King of Joseon. Sohyeon continued Imjong's policies of reforms. Trading companies were also set up and, with backings from royal ships, made headway into Southeast Asia. Sohyeon made contact with European missionaries. Interested in the messages of the western faith, Sohyeon himself converted to Catholicism and taken the baptismal name of Nicholas and promoted religious freedoms. He received the temple name Sangjo and, like Imjong, passed away without an heir in 1649. The Phoenix throne was then passed to his younger brother Crown Prince Bongrim. Bongrim oversaw Korean expansions into the Indian Ocean, putting the reformed Joseon military into a test with great success.

In 1654, King Bongrim officially announced the end of Wei's suzerainty over Joseon and formally declared Joseon as an Empire with him as the Yeonheung Emperor. This act has brought negative reactions from Wei and war broke out between Wei and Joseon. While many were hopeful of the Yeonheung Emperor's chance, there were still many who expected the repeat of the war of 1454. However, the newly christened Imperial military of Joseon held strong defending the northern provinces and inflicted heavy losses onto Wei forces. The Imperial Navy of Joseon readily defeated the fleets of Wei and after two years of fighting, Wei formally acknowledged Joseon's independence from Wei's sphere of influence. Bolstered by the victory, the Yeungheong Emperor declared hangul, the writing alphabet of Korea developed under the reign of Sejong the Great but not used ever since, to be the written language and decreed current and future laws to be written in hangul rather than in hanja, the Korean reading of Chinese letters. The Yeunheong Emperor died in 1672 as an accomplished ruler with achievements of that of Goguryeo's Gwanggaeto the Great and Joseon's Sejong the Great and was given the temple name of Hyojong the Great. He was succeeded by his son Yi Yeon as the Cheonmu Emperor. The Cheonmu Emperor encouraged more publishing of books into Hangul and passed new social laws, including doing away with the practice of eunuchs. The Cheonmu Emperor also continued Joseon's imperial ambitions, strengthening Korean presence in Malaya, Borneo, and Sumatra, often bringing into conflicts with European empires. Outposts were also set up in Ceylon, Aden, and Mombasa, bringing Korea closer to bringing trades to Europe (at least for the Roman Empire). The Cheonmu Emperor was succeeded by his son Yi Soon in 1688 as the Yunggyeong Emperor. The Yunggyeong Emperor's reign saw chaos in the government with parties changing power frequently yet the general public enjoyed high levels of prosperity. The Yunngyeong Emperor also wished to see Hanseong to be one of the major cultural centers of East Asia and funded various public projects aiming at the creation of Korean literature and art in a period known as the Hanseong Renaissance.

The Yunggyeong Emperor passed away in 1720 and was replaced by his son Yi Yun as the Yunggyeong Emperor in 1720. The Yunggyeong Emperor reigned for four years before abdicating the throne (either voluntarily or by force) in 1724 in favor of his half-brother Yi Gim as the Tangpyeong Emperor. The reign of the Tangpyeong Emperor was marked by various economic and political reforms with a growth of merchant activities and reforms in the country's tax codes, including taxing the aristocratic yangban class which was met with heavy opposition from the aristocrats. He sponsored the creation of agencies that would root out corruption in the court and sought opinions of the public from peasants to local officials. Joseon also made headways to the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of Korean rule over Ceylon in 1762. Korean attention was also brought to the Americas with the establishments of trading outposts in Alaska and parts of Vancouver as the colonies of Midaeyuk. The Tangpyeong Emperor passed away in 1776 and was succeeded by his grandson Yi San as the Honghui Emperor and the incumbent ruler of Korea. The Honghui Emperor, while an ambitious ruler on his own, continued his father's policies of economic and political reforms to improve the lives of the common people, coinciding with the rise of reform minded scholars belonging to the Silhak school of thought. He established the Kyujanggak, the royal library, and allowed more class of people barred from civil service to apply for government positions. Korean colonies in North America also increased from 1776 to 1812 with many people seeing potential economic opportunities in the Beautiful Continent. The Honghui Emperor abolished state ownership of slavery and worked to abolish the status system, although the latter is met with heavy oppositions from conservatives. Industrialization came to Korea through the textile industry and the mass production of silk and started in Northern Korea in 1798. Factories soon dotted all over the resource rich northern half of Korea while a few appeared in the agrarian dominated southern half. The growth of these factories have created wealthy industrialists who took advantage of the opportunity and used some of its wealth in joining liberal scholars and merchants in calling for more political reforms with the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, male suffrage, and a national legislature. The Honghui Emperor, a proponent of political reforms, agreed to some of the demands and established the bicameral Junghoe (Central Assembly) in 1807, consisting of the upper chamber House of Peers and the lower chamber House of Delegates. Suffrage, however, was limited to men of education. The establishment of the Junghoe created two parties, the Silhak Party was primarily supported by merchants, industrialists, and liberal Confucian scholars and the Noron Party backed by the landed gentry, conservative scholars, and agrarians.

RP Sample:
 - It's like Alternate Divergence but made by the Cobalt Network and has set nations (Tales of Two Horizons II)
- War, what is it good for? (Back to 1935)
- Rednecks and post-apocalyptic America (Fallout: Damn Dirty South)
- Red Dawn but Asian (Crane Ascendent)
- Generic late 19th century Alt-history RP (Voice of a New Age)
- War, war never changes (Fallout: Republic of Dusts)
- Alternate history taken all the way (1900: Alternate Divergence)
- Anime Vietnam Flashbacks (Operation Gatelord)
- When the Spanish Flu wiped off 50% of the world population (All Quiet on the Front)
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)