‘Uchronia’ is a term that was invented by French philosopher Charles Renouvier in 1857 when he imagined what would had happened if the Roman Empire had never become Christian.
Imagining alternate (Am. Engl. ) or alternative (Br. Engl.) history is still quite popular. For example, have you watched the series (or read the novel) The Man in the High Castle? What do you think it is about? Watch the trailer and you will know:
You’re right! It explores what the world would be like now if Germany and Japan had won World War II.
Here you will read a story called ‘Election Day’, by Harry Turtledove. It imagines different results for the USA in 2016. To help you with the words you don’t understand, you can go to Wordreference or The Free Dictionary.
Now it’s your turn to play with history. Write a comment below this post (write inside the white box under ‘Leave a Reply’) saying in one or two sentences what would have happened or what would happen now if something in the past had been different. I’ll begin:
If America had not been discovered, we wouldn’t eat potatoes today in Europe.
Remember:
- To express something you imagine in the past and a consequence you imagine in the present: If+ past perfect, would/wouldn’t + present.
If my brother had accepted that job, he would be rich now.
- To express something you imagine in the past and a consequence you imagine in the past too: If+ past perfect, would/ wouldn’t+ present perfect.
If I had studied more, I would have passed.
Here are some ideas (but you can use your own!):
- If my parents had never met,…
- If the European Union had never existed,…
- If Karl Benz hadn’t invented cars,…
- If the British had not invaded Gibraltar,…
- If Juan Carlos and Sofía had only had daughters,…
- If Americans hadn’t landed on the Moon,…
- If Fleming had not discovered penicillin, …
If you’re into this, you can also watch the TV series Timeless with English subtitles.