(Also known as repubblica serenissima; The Most serene republic).

Territories: Venice rules Brazil to Venezuela, in South America. Colonial settlement consists of many plantations in the North, but the south, with the discovery of gold (and rapidly flowing rivers) is more focused on commerce. Beretta is the chief city of the North; Nueva Verona is the largest city in southern Nuova Italia.

In the Mediterranean, Italy rules all of the Italian peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, along with the County of Savoy/Piemonte. Tyrol, a predominantly Italian county that the Venetians "swapped" for with the Empire, is the northernmost border. In practical terms, however, Switzerland and the Archduchy of Austria are closer to the republic than to the Emperor in Worms.

Cyprus, Corfu, and Crete continue to be used as naval bases against the Byzantines, and Egypt is essentially a massive plantation.

In the Indian Ocean, the Venetians rule Borneo, Ternate, Tindore, Ceylon, Malacca, Java, and a bit of Southwest India. They’ve explored Australia, but see no practical purpose to claiming it.

Government: The name of the Republic changed during the Twenty years war. Owning much of Italy obviously enhanced the Venetian feeling of italiano, and in time the Republic gave more and more power to the loyal cities. Those which weren’t had their leaders replaced by pro Venetian leaders, and became loyal (Florence, for example).

The Italian government works roughly based upon the following: The Constitution is a model of religious tolerance. Bishops, both Catholic and their Italian Protestant Counterparts, are elected by the Senate. Freedom of Worship is extended even to Jews, and the Muslims even have a mosque in Venice itself.

The base of the Italian republic is the Great council, consisting of the merchants and nobles of Italy. As its ranks had swollen to 15,000 (This is NOT a typo) by 1560, a new solution was needed. The Pregadi, better known as the Senate, was raised to 200 members, with representation based on the population and tax base of each city of the Republic. Separate but equal from the Senate is the Council of Ten, which in reality has seventeen (The Doge and his six councilors attend all the sessions of the council). The Council of Ten was established in 1310 to "preserve the liberty and peace of the subjects of the republic and to protect them from the abuses of personal power". The council of Ten is elected by the Senate for six months at a time, and its three heads (Capi) rotate monthly and are confined to the city of Venice for their time in office.

Above the Council of Ten and Senate are the collegio, which is basically a cabinet. The Collegio consists of the Ministers of War, Marine, and Finance. There are Six Savii Grandi (literally: Big Heads). They can be compared to the executive arm of the government, and through them all state business is channeled and most legislation initiated. The chairman of the collegio (who rotates weekly) is the Prime Minister of the Republic.

Above this chaos is the Doge, who is theoretically the head of Venice. In practice, he is always guarded by the Signoria, whose support and approval the Doge needs to act. In fact, without a Doge, the Signoria can act so long as they have a majority in favor of an idea, and the Doge is essentially a figurehead. The Doge, unlike the rest of the government, holds office for life.

If this system of government sounds confusing, it is, and that’s really the point. The Venetians are terrified of the idea of one man holding sway over the government, and have designed their entire constitution to prevent that. For those who are interested, membership in the Senate only requires that the owner can give the Republic ten thousand ducats in one lump sum. The candidate is then eligible for election by their native city.

Venetian government in cities is very loose. The Senate appoints a rector, who controls taxation and raising military levies, and a catch-it-all phrase which covers "maintaining law and order". Aside from that, however, most cities in the Republic have a civil governor, known as a Rector, who controls that. In every city, he is sworn to respect the civil constitution, and in several cities, the rector is subject to a council which can censure him if any of the traditional rights are infringed.

Venetian taxation is an annual 5% of the land’s value, and, needless to say, the Venetians hire very good surveyors. An unexpected side affect of this is that the landowners become agricultural businessman, doing everything they can to enhance their land’s value.

Crete, Cyprus, and Egypt do not have councils. Nuova Italia, however, is divided into provinces, who have a rector and a Council. Edibility for the local councils is more relaxed than in Italy, and rectors are subject to local constitutions.

Capital: Venice. It’s staying here. The common view is that if those Genoans and Neapolitans don’t like it, they can bloody well sod off.

Venice is a burgeoning city, and the entire lagoon’s shoreline is now the center of shipbuilding and docks. Due to deforestation, lumber must be imported from Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland for shipbuilding.

Major cities: Milano, Florentine, Genoa, Venice, and Messina are the principal cities of the Republic. Milano is the largest, and after Venice, the most prosperous.

Resources: Aside from cloth, The Republic is poor in resources. What Venice does have is, with the Canal, a position as the entrepot of the world. Italy’s chief agriculture product is wine, and it’s chief mineral is sulfur in Sicily.

Abroad, things are different. Nuova Italia ships tobacco, cotton, sugar (the latter two come from Cyprus, Crete, and Egypt as well).

The canal lets spices and silks come to Italy, which are then sold abroad.

Alliances: Italy has traditionally strong ties with the HREGN, but the last emperor severely weakened them. They have strong culture ties with Britannia, but as both nations are aggressive naval powers, their foreign policies align in Europe and clash abroad. The Britons are increasingly heading around the Cape, and as the winds are pretty bad near the Canal, are making headway in the East.

Military Strength: A decent sized professional army (It is the fourth largest in Europe), fortifications along the Alps and in the Udine, and perhaps the largest navy.

Territory: The British Isles and Low Countries. Its colonies cover the East and Gulf Coasts of north America, as well as a claim to California. Wehetheror not the French will pay attention to a conquistador’s claims remains to be seen.

In order to try to dislodge the Venetians, the English have begun sailing around the Cape, which has developed rapidly. The Phillipines have a small Dutch colony as well, and the Japanese trade with the Dutch and English.

Government: The Commonwealth consists of a Parliament (House of Commons and Lords) in London for the entire Commonwealth. Based on the Venetian Senate, Parliament has control of taxation, war, and diplomacy.

Below the Parliament are the regional assemblies. In Scotland and England, there are Parliaments. The Netherlands has the Estates-Generals, which contains more of the city bourgeoisie than Parliament does. (Few instead of almost none).

The head of the Commonwealth is the Lord Protector, who is sworn to defend the Protestant Faith(s), and the Constitution. Unlike in The Republic, The Lord-Protector is emphatically not a figurehead, and is the effective executive branch. He is appointed every five years by the vote of the regional assemblies.

The Commonwealth is less aristocratic than in OTL, because of Venetian influences. More than one noble has invested in the China trade, for instance.

Major cities: Antwerp, London, and Edinburgh are the capitals of their regions. Amsterdam is smaller than in OTL, because the ports at Antwerp are still busy.

Resources: All the good stuff that gave the British Isles a head start in OTL is still there. Coal, ore, and lumber in England and Scotland.

The colonies produce tobacco, naval supplies (New England Lumber is very useful to the English, and lets them maintain a naval edge over the Venetians; but a slight one). And furs. Cotton has been introduced, but the Churka won’t work on the cotton the English grow.

Alliances: England is constantly switching sides as suits its interests. In the Twenty Years war, it supported the Protestants (and established itself). In the Franco-German war, it supported the French. England’s policy revolves around making sure no nation dominates the continent.

Military: The Commonwealth maintains a larger army than in OTL, to defend the Low Countries. The navy is correspondingly smaller.

Government: Al-Andalus is based on the Swiss Cantons and the Republic. There is only the Council, in Malaga. It controls all foreign affairs, basic taxation, and military powers, in theory. In practice, the Andalusis dislike listening to their central government, but the representatives are chosen by all adult "People of the Book". The Andalusis encompass Jews, Castilians, and Moors.

Some view their tolerance as proof that religion cannot divide mankind, especially the philosophers of the Renaissance. Cynics expect the confederation to collapse into civil war as soon as it faces a real crisis.

Capital: Grenada. The Alhambra, damaged in the Twenty Years war, was rebuilt as a hall for the council.

Major Cities: Seville, Corboda, Grenada, and Tangiers are the chief cities.

Resources: Southern Iberia has some metals, which are sold to the Italians. Silk is also produced in great quantity by the Granadines, and the merchant marine is small but efficient. Much of the prosperity of Al-Andalus is a result of its location, at the Straits of Gibraltar.

Military: Almost all Al-Andalusis own a musket. Fortifications along the sierra Nevada protect the region, but for the most part, if they ever get in a war with the Empire and Italy doesn’t help them, it is acknowledged they will be beaten.

Alliances: The Republic has strong ties to the Confederation, and maintains a naval base at Gibraltar. England has requested permission to base a fleet in Tangiers, but so far (the Italians have told them no, basically) the Confederation has refused.

Government: The head of the HREGN is the emperor. The office of Emperor is chosen by an election of the Diet, upon the Death of the previous emperor. Occasionally the next Emperor is chosen while the current one is still living (as happened with Adolf) but that is actually quite rare.

The emperor, has, theoretically, the supreme power in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In practice, he cannot rule against the reichssregiment, who (fortunately) often go along with the Emperor. The Emperor controls the leasing of mints, the right to ennoble and confer titles, and to pardon criminals. He also represents the Empire abroad.

The Reichstag is the legislative body of the empire. It is divided into three councils, the Councils of the Electors, Princes, and Imperial Cities.

The council of Electors have six members. The margrave of Brandenburg, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the margrave of Saxony, the Duke of Bavaria, and the Archduke of Austria

The rights of electors include: To elect (obviously) the emperor, to hold a high office, to have rank and precedence, to propose legislation, and be consulted on all legislation by the emperor, to give their assent on certain matters without consultation of the rest of the Reichstag, and to enjoy within their territories regal powers. This meant that they collected taxes as they saw fit, and raised their own levies.

The Council of princes is composed of princes, counts, lords, and prelates of the states of the Empire (Reichsstände). To be a state of the empire, it was necessary to own a principality or lordship under the emperor’s immediate rule, and to share in the financial and military burdens of the Empire. What exactly the financial and military burdens of the empire are lead to arguments between the Emperor and Reichstag.

The third council was of the Imperial cities. Their position in the Reichstag is not always clear, but they are rarely allowed to vote on decisive matters. They have no say on the admission of new states, wars abroad, and the investiture of imperial fiefs.

Geography: The Empire rulres Germany, Bohemia, the Archduchy of Austria, the Swiss, Alasce, Lorraine, and through perpetual fief, the Emperor rules the Kingdom of Hungary. The Empire has extensive holdings in South America, running from Patagonia (OTL Argentina) northwest into Peru and Chile. The gold from Peru is given to the individual electors to do with as they please, although the new Emperor would like to take control of the gold on his own.

Capital: The Reichstag has been moved permanently to Worms.

Major Cities: Berlin, Lubeck, Vienna, and Prague are the largest cities in the Empire. Lubeck has a thriving trade with the new world, and exports grain to Italy and to England.

Resources: Iron, Coal, wood, grain, and cloth production in the North. In essence: everything that made Germany a powerhouse in OTL. Unfortunately, the disunited nobles aren’t using it properly. The most prosperous realm, the Archduchy of Austria, is led by Amadee (formerly Amadeus) II, who openly mocks the provincial northern Germans. Amadee has developed extensive ties with the Italians, as well.

Military: Despite having the largest potential army in Europe (and hence the world) The Germans are still relying on feudal levies and mercenary armies. There is a reasonably large navy, but it has been declining of late, or more accurately, fallen behind the Scandinavian fleet in the Baltic.

Amadee, Archduke of Austria, is again the exception. He has developed a small, highly professional army on the Italian model. He has also encouraged the development of canals to bring Austrian raw materials to Italy, and has been reawarded for his efforts with the richest Elector state.

Alliances: Traditionally, they have been allies of Italy. As Italians begin expanding onto the plains of Patagonia, however, and look hesitantly on the massive neighbor to the north, the relations have become poorer. Although the two nations are still on friendly terms, Adolf’s warmongering and insults to the Senate have weakened his reputation. The Christian Empire, which wants to regain its French land, has become an ally of late.

Government: The King is subject to the Estates-General. The Grande Ordinnance, issued by the nobles who crowned Henri, gave the Estates control over finances, basing itself (ironically, considering events in England at the time) on the English Parliament.

The Estates are divided into two Estates, the First and Second. The First Estate pays little in taxes, and consists of the nobility. The Second Estate, the burghers, merchants, and peasants, pays the lion’s share of revenues. However, as control of finances falls to the Estates, this gives the bourgeoisie a much stronger say in the government than the nobles.

Capital: Paris.

Major Cities: Not too different form OTL The south is slightly poorer than it was, for suffering the wars between the French and Spanish and French and Germans, but these were about the same as those of the Wars of Religion.

Resources: Mexican gold is pouring into the country, giving the Estates absurd amounts of money. The money has been used to build a strong army and navy to face the Germans, and France is expected to retake southwest France from the Christian Empire soon.

Military: It’s army is, bar none, the strongest in Europe, especially after the Provencal war. Unfortunately, it is hemmed in by its neighbors; the British, Italians, and Christian Empire have developd large fortifications along their borders. Only the Rhine offers an easy avenue for continental expansion.

Alliances: Surprisingly enough, the French have strong ties with the Byzantine Empire; a sacrilegious alliance of the "Lily and the purple". Both desire to knock the Italians and Germans down a peg. At the same time, France has common interests with the Italians against the British in the New world, and with the British and Poles against the Germans.

Government: How shall I put this…. The Byzantine Empire is a theocratic empire. The Byzantine armies go into battle to the cry of "There is no God but the Lord and Christ is his son." The constant wars to retake Anatolia have turned your average Byzantine into a fairly dogmatic Orthodox Christian, and skeptical of outward ideas. The Byzantine Emperor is viewed as Christ’s vicar upon the Earth by his subjects, although this hasn’t stopped the not-so-occasional civil war.

There is also a massive bureaucrat organize the Empire, staffed by Greeks, largely. There is a substantial Turkish population in the military, however.

Capital: The City. Constantinople. Hagia Sophia looks oddly out of place, rebuilt by Leonardo Da Vinci. The city is surrounded by massive walls, although they are fairly primitive.

Major Cities: Antioch, Athens, Constantinople, and Smyrna are the major cities. Jerusalem is important as well, but for spiritual rather than economic value.

Military: The navy is large, but rather backward; galleys, rather than sailing ships, are the norm. The Army, on the other hand, is the practical largest in Europe. It has fallen behind in terms of concepts such as supply and logistics, but is still a formidable fighting force. If it wasn’t often bleeding itself to death in a civil war, Byzantium might be the strongest military nation in Europe.

Allies: France, to an extent. Russia, to a larger one. The Byzantines want to take the Canal, Cyprus, and Crete, and will ally with anyone who will let them do that. The Crusade has taught them that Persia is not worth the effort.