England

Government
England currently uses an Absolute Cognatic system, in which females inherit titles, wealth, lands, etc. on the same grounds as males. The English Parliament is currently comprised of two houses (as with history) a House of Lords & House of Commons. Sweepings reforms in laws regarding women during the 1500's led to the first women in parliament by 1514 and women serving in the armed forces as early as 1518. Currently the Conservatives hold sway in both houses, with the Liberal and Unionist parties forming the opposition parties. Elections are held every 6 years for 1/2 of the seats of both houses.

Economy
The English economy (as with most in the current year of 1687) is still primarily an agrarian one, however with machinery becoming every more prevalent in society, society at large has begun shifting towards urban centers and the jobs there. Trade goods of the nation include copper, zinc, salt, whale oil, steel, lumber, wool, and tin. The largest amount of imports include food (grains and meats), saltpeter, and silver.

Military
England currently boasts the worlds 8th largest armed forces, with the majority of personnel being assigned to Gendarme (police/militia units) or naval commands. While exact troop numbers are not currently known England never does seem to have a shortage of men and women to wage war.

1450-1520
Up until 1465 English history perfectly mirrors actual history. In 1465 the English crown decreed that women would be given the same status as men in all aspects of society. From marriage to military service, women were cared totally equal in the eyes of the law. While this did not initially effect the way things were done in the country over time things have changed and women are seen as completely equal to men by the vast majority of the English populace.

In 1500 the English normalized relations with their neighbors to the north, Scotland. By the end of that year through dialogue and diplomacy the Treaty of Edinburgh was signed, with a representative from Ireland also attending that formalized an alliance between the three. This treaty would become the frameworks for the United Kingdoms and is often cited as the official founding of the multi-national superstate.

From 1455-1500 England colonized alongside Ireland in the 'New World'. Along the modern Eastern Seaboard of the US Ireland and England set up several hundred small colonies, that eventually grew to control nearly all of the seaboard to about 26 km inland in most areas. Several other smaller colonies were also settled in the New World, but the vast majority of the colonies were spread throughout the world. These include colonies in South Africa & the Pacific.

From 1450 until the beginning of the 125 years war (1520-1645) England fought the pitched battles of the 100 Years War with France, and then the Suppression Campaigns to put down constant rebellions. Though England had destroyed and effectively crippled France local uprisings in formerly allied Burgundy and Southern Aquitaine threatened to frequently lead to the rebirth of the nation of France. Thanks to the Scottish forces provided by the treaty and the Knights of Saint John (in agreement for territory around the city of Nice) England was able to mostly keep control of the area, despite occasional (rumored) outside interference.

Numerous uprisings and terrorist attacks did have an effect on the populace and slowly wore down their will to hold the territories. This would culminate many years later in the resurgence of France as a major player during the 125 Years War.

In 1467 Naples rose to prominence in a series of wars to recreate the Roman Empire. Stretching from Southern Italy to Turkey to North Africa. During the next few years Europe slowly drew together as Naples declared war on the Mamluk Empire and Timurid Empire. England and Scotland used their combined naval power to destroy the Neopolitan naval power and then land in the territory. Scottish troops then diverted to Greece to trap the Neopolitan field armies in that territory so they could not aid the mainland.

While this and the Great Battle of Giza took place England set about systematically destroying Neopolitan farmlands, cities, and infrastructure. When Naples fell a few weeks later English troops withdrew. However during the war against the Holy Roman Empire a few decades later the English would return as Naples resurged and repeat the process. This time though they would also salt the earth before they left, to be sure Naples would require decades before it could regain the populace needed for more wars.

On the eve of the outbreak of the 125 Years War England signed a pact with the Spanish kingdom of Aragon, effectively admitting them to the United Kingdoms (formal induction of Aragon would not take place though until 1593). Also taking place in this same year England and Scotland began funding various rebel groups in Spain, which would eventually make the budding country destabilize 50 years later.

The 125 Years War (1520-1655)
Though England was not an active participant in the early years of the war in terms of combat, it was active politically. Using a mixture of diplomacy and threats the English were able to cow many nations and keep them from turning the small war between Ireland and Portugal into a larger more costly war. For a time this worked, however within a decade their schemes unraveled when England attempted to keep Venice from sending aid to Portugal by threatening them with action from Scottish troops stationed in the Umayyid Caliphate and Morocco. This led to Venice striking preemptively in Spain against Scottish forces. This first devastating strike against the unprepared Scottish troops drew Scotland into the war and proved to a large section of Europe that their threats were mostly hollow.

By 1530 the war was in full swing, with fighting taking place in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. France was a particularly hot spot in the war, with the country reemerging from a rebellion of Burgandians in 1544 in which the Grand Duke of Burgandy proclaimed himself as the new French King. The fighting see-sawed back and forth for the next 86 years, almost like a war within the war that was insulated from the rest of the conflict. At one time or another through the course of the war France was almost against extinguished, however with foreign aid (specifically from Switzerland and Venice) the country would always bounce back.

The war rapidly turned more sour for England as the colonies in the New World finally rose up in rebellion. After several decades of small secessionist movements something in the territory finally clicked. The two field armies, one English and one Irish entered into open rebellion. The separatist grounds seized on the opportunity created by this rebellion and leveraged their ties to the army rebellion to take control of the provincial parliament. As the other territories followed suits over the next few months a new nation was born, the Confederation of the New World. This new nation would remain a thorn in the side of the English for the next century as fighting now broke out on another continent.

Matters in this war became further complicated by all parties thanks to global temperatures beginning to drop. While the full effects were yet to have been felt all nations food production began a slow decline from 1580 on wards.

Several lulls in the fighting constantly gave the various nations time to recover and rebuild to a degree, with England always having a slight edge thanks to aid and deals with other countries, and thanks in part to Scotland and Ireland (to a lesser degree) providing the bulk of forces that tackled other threats so England could focus on France and Switzerland.

In 1588 the Zulu launched several sweeping attacks and campaigns against European settlements in South Africa. The most notable of these attacks came with the destruction of the Scottish colony of World's End & English colony of New Dumfries (both on the western shore of modern South Africa). With the loss of these two major ports trade income slumped, and suddenly the flow of new ships to the English and Scottish navies dried up as World' End was producing the majority of ships for both navies.With the Zulu having entered the war what had already been a complex mess was made yet worse, though thankfully the Zulu took no further actions until 1598. When they did however their actions threatened to destroy the very United Kingdoms England had worked so hard to forge.

In 1598 a Zulu armada landed in Scottish held Gibraltar and wiped the territory, populace, and armed forces defending it off of the map. With Scotland already struggling an English army wheeled about and headed south with Aragonian and Irish field armies also making for the rich and valuable region of their ally. In the winter of 1598 a deal was struck between the UK and Zulu that would get them to give back the land and release any Scottish or Umayyid prisoners and in exchange the UK would turn a blind eye to the Zulu as they marched into Portugal and exterminated the country. Over the next several months more troops landed to fulfill that deal and soon Portugal, the flash-point for the entire war, had fallen.

As these events transpired in Portugal, Grenada, and Gibraltar tragedy struck Scotland to the north. Despite the Scottish navy mustering all the ships they could to stop a Prussian armada a force of Venetian, Spanish, and French ships managed to make landfall in Scotland, disgorging thousands of troops on the unprepared shores of Scotland. Several dozen training brigades and units of Gendarme were hastily assembled to stop the invaders, but their movements were too late. Edinburgh, capitol of Scotland fell into foreign hands for the first time in their history. Prussian soldiers then learned of the Moot meeting in ancient Iverness to crown a new king. Once again the UK response came too slowly and the city was destroyed, the Moot slaughtered, and the UK armies scattered to the winds. Shortly after that another armada landed in Wessex, England and attempted to do the same to England as they had done to Scotland.

With Scotland teetering on the brink of total collapse the darkest hour had finally come to England. Queen Elizabeth believing she had nothing left to lose, mustered her personal guards and the last two field armies available to her and went to meet the invaders. What happened over the next few months became legend as Elizabeth led the English and Welsh forces to victory after victory, always against the worst odds and while crushing her foes utterly. She is rumored herself to have personally slain the commander of the French contingent in single combat at the Battle of Three Bridges outside of Dunster. In any event the Queen's daring led to her canonization by the Church of England shortly after, and gave the English someone to truly rally behind.

In France however things had turned against England totally. Though Normandy and Northern Aquitaine held out Orleans had fallen, Brittany was invaded, and Paris the Great Jewel of the English crown for nearly 100 years was burning. Sensing the end was near England began making peace overtures to all parties involved. The Swiss who had been playing mercenary for this war took a large sum of gold and departed. This action began a domino effect, as Swiss troops left enemy troop positions, blockades, and supply routes became increasingly vulnerable. With Prussia and her allies soon expunged from Scotland and then England proper soon after the war enter its final stage, a Cold War.

No peace deal was signed (though negotiations kept taking place periodically), no troops were sent home, the soldiers and battles simply ceased and lines became static. Occasional raids and skirmishes broke out from 1635 on wards, but by then the fighting was largely over and rebuilding had begun. For England's allies some fighting continued right up until the formal end of the war in 1655, but for England herself? For England rebuilding and rearming began immediately. As talks see sawed back and forth for the next twenty years England's position in the UK became one of leadership and influence. Scotland to the north collapsed under her own weight after the attacks on the Moot and descended into a civil war that would last from 1624-1656, leaving England the largest member of the UK and the one with most of its original territory still in their own hands.

Post-War years (1655-1686)
England of the immediate post war years suffered a depression of the kind unseen in yet recorded history. Even with keeping 65% of soldiers who served in the war on active duty the remaining 35% created a proportional unemployed section of the populace for several years. Especially those who had been maimed and now required care for life. However the English government took many steps to make sure the public welfare always came first during these years, and by 1670 had pulled itself away from the depression.

As 1671 dawned England again began the task of colony building from South Africa to North America and everywhere in between. The aging Queen Elizabeth declared in that year that "The Sun would never again set on the English people, never again would foreign troops manage to reach the shores, and never again shall we be pushed to the brink." With the blessing of Parliament settlement work began all over the globe, and a trading boom soon made England rich again.

In 1686 the UK as a whole finally held elections for a unified single house Imperial Parliament of all UK member nations and their client states. By a narrow decision this parliament voted to pass the new Imperial crown to Ireland for the next six years, supposedly thanks to the machinations of a reborn Scotland. As the year draws to a close though England stand poised to become a great empire or the trading powerhouse of the world. Only time will tell which path it has taken.