Earth 5

== History ==
=== Time Line Divergence ===
In 1453, during the Siege of Constantipole, the Ottoman assault failed because the Ottoman cannons were sabotaged on May 28 leading to an explosion that damaged the Ottoman army and killed the Sultan Mehmed II. 
Constantinople survived, and gun powder was dismissed throughout Europe and the Middle East as being too dangerous. Consequently gun powder development was set back sever centuries. 
In the ensuing chaos of Mehmed II's death the Byzantines were able to regain a foot hold in Greece. Mehmed II's son Bayezid II was only six, and Mehmed's brothers were all dead. The realm was briefly divided by civil war as Bayezid's regents fought with popular generals. This allowed an army comprised mostly of Hungarians, Poles, Byzatines, and Italian mercenaries, to push the Ottomans out of Greece. By 1460, Bayezid's regents had unified the country, but by then the Ottomans had lost a lot of territory in Europe. The Hungarians, Poles, and Lithuanians all controlled the northern Balkans. Constantinople had asserted a new Byzantine Empire and conquered Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Peloponesia. The Ottomans still controlled southern Greece, Greater Albania, and Kosovo. 
Pope Nicholas V saw an opportunity and encouraged Christian kingdoms to support the Neo-Byzatines. 
Because the Byzantines could keep the trade routes to the silk road open, the Spanish were never desperate for a new route to the Indies, and therefore didn't discover the Americas until many years later.
=== Further Developments, 1453 - 1553 ===
In 1458 Guillaume d'Estouteville was made pope instead of Pius II. He took the name Gregory XII to honor the most recent French Pope. He saw the power of the reunified Ottomans and made diplomatic ties with Constantinople. In 1463, when the Ottomans invaded Byzantine territory, he raised a crusade, the first one in almost 200 years, to defend the Byzantines. This crusade was not as effective as Gregory XII liked to claim it was, but the Ottomons were pushed back yet again. 
In 1517, the Protestant reformation began in Europe. 
In 1520 the Spanish Warlord Cortez starts an expedition to conquer the Moors in North Africa.
Europe continues to face Eastward because the far east is seen as the best source of riches. 
Bohemia become more influential because it is an important trade route. It also became an important center of Protestantism. The Holy Roman Empire tries to invade but fails when the Teutonic states intervene on the side of Bohemia. 
The Ming Dynasty fights the remaining Yuan. 
The Timurid empire grows in power but is replaced by the Safavid Empire which conquers all of Persia. 
The Ottomans
== Classes and Economics ==
For the average nation on earth 5 there are four distinct
classes.
1.      Serfs: On average 20% of population: Life sucks
for serfs. They are not allowed to own any land or stock in companies. They are
tied to the land they are born on. They cannot leave without the permission of
the lord the land belongs to. Any nation with an economic or political rating
of 6 or higher has outlawed serfdom. 
2.      Vellians: On average 45% of population: Life is
a bit better for vellians. They may own as much as 5 acres of land or 1,000 $
in stock shares. They can travel wherever they want for as much as three months at a time without their lords permission, but cannot work for another
lord or move permanently without their lord’s permission. Roughly equivalent to 19th-20th century working class. Mostly factory workers
and farmers. Life is steadily improving for them. About 25% become freemen
before they die. Most laws separating them from freemen are only enforced about
half of the time. Vellians cannot be forcibly conscripted to their lord’s
armies.
3.      Freemen: On average 35% of population:
Equivalent to 19th-20th century middle class. These are the ones who own and operate small buisnesses or even large buisnesses if they are successful. However, any business they start, 10% is automatically owned by
their local lord and 1% by the king/queen. They can own any amount of land and stock shares. Any vellian can buy Freemen status for the equivalent of 200,000
dollars or it may be granted for exceptional service. Children born to Freemen
do not have full Freemen status until they either serve at least two years as a soldier or it is otherwise granted to them. Female children of Freemen cannot serve in the military but they become full a Freeman if they marry a full Freeman. A pure vellian does not become a Freeman if they marry one.
4.      Nobility: Less than 1%: Nobles act as the main
political and economic power of whatever region they control. Think of them as a combination of medieval nobility and the “1%”. Noblemen are part of different families which all bicker for power. Usually noble families in the same nation are at passive aggressive peace with each other. However, open war between noble houses is not uncommon.
Guilds are a thing. Most industries are protected and
regulated by guilds. Sometimes many guilds per industry. There are smiting
guilds, automobile guilds, candle maker guilds, you name it… it’s a guild. Most
Freemen are part of a guild. Guilds wield equivalent power to the noble
families. You don’t want to mess with them. 
== Warfare ==
Fiber
armor was discovered by the Aztecs during the Spanish debacle. This turned the
tide and changed war forever when the Scottish brought it back to the
continent. The average soldier has a combination of a pole arm and a crude
musket called a volley pike. Swords are still the universal side arm. Knights
charge into battle on motorcycles with tank treads. Tanks exist but use
catapults instead of cannons. 
== The Church ==
The
church is very important. It handles welfare, healthcare, etc. It is the social
center of most communities. And it was split between protestant and Catholic.