This is roughly the first 60% of a timeline that I'm putting together as background to my story "Dark times for New England" (which I will get back to writing one of these days ... 
)
1775-83 – American Revolution as in OTL
1781 – Articles of Confederation giving the US a loose central government are ratified (OTL)
1783 – Treaty of Paris recognizes US independence with western boundaries along the Mississippi River
1785 – Death of George Washington after a sudden illness
1787-1789 – Three successive conventions attempt to find a new and more workable constitution but fail to come to any agreement
1789 – Beginning of French Revolution (OTL)
1790-91 – Outbreak of fighting between Vermont and New York, which claims Vermont as part of its own territory. Other New England states back Vermont. Pennsylvania and New Jersey support New York. More fighting starts in Pennsylvania where settlers from New England attempt to break away. All efforts to find a solution fail.
1792-94 – Further breaking apart of US as settlers in Franklin (OTL Tennessee) declare themselves independent, followed later by Kentucky. A truce between New York and Vermont breaks down with further clashes, and all New England states except for Rhode Island form their own government. Meanwhile, in Europe Louis XVI is deposed and later executed and the French Revolution enters its most radical phase while simultaneously going to war against several other European powers, as in OTL.
1795 – States from Maryland south to Georgia set up their own government. USA now includes only New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, plus some western territory. New England Federation (NEF), Confederation of Southern States (CSS), Kentucky, and Franklin are all independent. Britain retains outposts around Great Lakes, native Americans and Spanish dispute some territory with the Successor states of the US.
1798 – 1800 – USA, Kentucky, CSS join to defeat Native American opposition, partition western lands between Great Lakes and Kentucky. Kentucky and Franklin merge into the Free American Republic (FAR) in 1800. Rhode Island also joins the NEF in 1800.
1800 – Cotton Gin invented in South Carolina by a native inventor
1801 – Spain retrocedes Louisiana territory to France as in OTL
1802 – Eli Whitney develops a process for interchangeable musket parts that will make manufacture of muskets and rifles faster and the guns themselves easier to maintain and repair. Within 15 years, his original factory will grow into several factories making muskets and rifles for individual citizens and the militaries of several countries.
1802-3 – French garrison and some French settlers arrive in Louisiana
1805 – French Louisiana cut off from France after Franco-Spanish fleet is mostly destroyed by Britain – French governor gives generous land grants to get settlers from the CSS, FAR, and USA to settle in Louisiana in return for settlers serving in militia to help defend against British. Many thousands of settlers accept.
1806 – 1810 – First commercial steamboats appear on Hudson and then Mississippi rivers. They become especially popular along the Mississippi.
1806 – 1813 – Events in Europe follow about the same course as OTL, but in North America the British fail to capture New Orleans in 1810, but take effective control of most of northern Louisiana territory. Louisiana seizes a little bit of Spanish West Florida. From 1811-1813 British backed Indians defeat attempts by USA supported by FAR and CSS to drive them off their lands. In 1815 most of OTL Michigan and parts of OTL Wisconsin and Illinois are ceded by the US and become an Indian territory under British protection. Southern Louisiana is recognized as an independent nation, with New Orleans as a free port and the Mississippi open to trade by all nations.
1822 – Britain announces that it will oppose efforts by continental European powers to assist Spain in recovering its American colonies, which are being lost to successful rebel movements. All of the independent North American nations support Britain in this action.
1820s-30s – Commercial railroads begin to appear in Britain, quickly spread to continental Europe and North America (as in OTL, perhaps just a tiny bit faster)
1825 – Russian Tsar Alexander I recovers from a serious illness, and reigns for another 26 years
1829 – Britain purchases Spanish Florida, which Spain is not interested in keeping and which the CSS was unable to gather enough money to purchase.
1830 – Ultra-conservative French King Charles X overthrown, and replaced by his cousin Louis-Philippe. (same as OTL) A minor uprising in the southern Netherlands is suppressed, but the Netherlands makes some concessions to giving the Catholic southern part of the country more autonomy.
1830-32 – First war between Ottoman Empire and its nominal province of Egypt, which is effectively acting as an independent country. Results are inconclusive.
1832 – Russian Baron Pavel Schilling develops an electrical telegraph, and is encouraged by the government to develop a more sophisticated version by 1835. This device is soon copied in other countries, and modified versions of the "Schilling code" become standard for telegraphic communications.
Slave revolts in the CSS and Louisiana are suppressed.
1833 – Mexican Emperor Iturbide offers sanctuary for ex-slaves and free blacks to settle in Mexico.
1834 – France invades Algeria under the pretext that a French ambassador was insulted (slightly later than OTL)
1835 – CSS and FAR merge into the American Confederation.
Whitney firearms begins marketing the first revolver, which is an instant success.
1836-38 – English and French speaking settlers in Mexico's Tejas province attempt to break away. They are successful, but Mexico retains hold of lands between the Rio Grande and Nueces rivers. Mexico uses 2 regiments of black ex-slaves and encourages slaves held by rebellious settlers to desert. The majority of ex-slaves in Mexico settle in southern Tejas, helping guard against encroachment from slaveholding Texas to the north.
1842-43 – Britain has allowed more white settlers in the Indian Territory in recent years, and now faces attacks from several groups of Native Americans who feel threatened by this. The Native Americans are defeated and the territory is changed to the Michigan territory, although the Native Americans still get large reservations.
1846 – "Latter Day Saints", the followers of an unusual version of Christianity that has spread in the USA and NEF but faced persecution, move to British controlled Iowa territory. The British allow them to settle in the thinly populated territory as a counterweight to the USA and Louisiana.
Britain forces China to open ports to western trade following a brief military conflict (slightly later than OTL Opium War)
1847 – Government of Louis Philippe makes some concessions to middle-class demands such as freedom of speech.
Gold discovered in California
1848 – Sporadic uprisings in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and a few other European cities are suppressed (these are less broad-based and organized than OTL 1848 uprisings, and make much less of an impact on politics and culture.
1850-51 – Russia attacks Ottoman Empire after Ottomans refuse to make concessions, annexes Bessarabia and forces Ottomans to grant Russia extensive economic and political rights within Ottoman territory. (Russia is developing faster economically than in OTL and has a more effective army.) Ottomans strengthen ties with Britain after this.
1853 – California achieves independence from Mexico peacefully, supported by Britain
Gold discovered in Australia, triggering another gold rush.
1854 – Russia forces China to cede lands north of the Amur River (I believe this happened slightly later in OTL)
1856 – First transatlantic telegraph cable laid between Bristol, England, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. It functions for less than a week before breaking.
1857 – Russia founds new port on Pacific (same location as OTL Vladivostok, though it has a different name)
1857-59 – War erupts between Britain on one side and the American Confederation and Louisiana on the other, after disputes that center around Britain refusing to return runaway slaves who have fled into British territories in Florida and Kansas. This war also helps start a secondary clash between the USA and Britain. In the end, little is resolved. This war sees the first use of breech-loading rifles, mainly by the British.
1858 – New England Federation passes new laws sharply restricting Catholic immigration and prescribing 20 year waiting period for all non-English speaking people before applying for citizenship. This law is pushed through by the Federal Nativist party, and caps years of mounting anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment in New England.
Russian Tsar Alexander II declares gradual end of serfdom – this is changed to full end of serfdom in 1860.
1859 – First underwater telegraph cable that functions long-term is laid between England and Nova Scotia
1859-61 – Second war between Ottoman Empire and its nominal province of Egypt. The Ottomans refuse Russian aid proposals, and turn to Britain for aid instead. Egypt gets aid from France. Victory for the Ottomans, who push Egyptian forces back to Nile Delta. First use of ironclad gunboats and repeating rifles by the Ottomans (supplied by Britain), and mines against ships by Egyptians.
1860 – "Hermit Land" of Japan forced to give trading concessions to Russia when Russia's Pacific squadron sails on a "tour" of Japanese ports.
1862 – British-Ottoman project begins to construct canal across the Isthmus of Suez
Britain ends transportation of convicts to any part of Australia.
1864 – Settlers in the northernmost Mexican province of Colorado declare independence from Mexico as the Republic of Colorado. Mexico does not try to hold on to this province, since it is too remote and the Mexican government has troubles closer to home.
1865 – Denmark announces annexation of territories of Schleswig and Holstein. A coalition of northern German states led by Prussia goes to war, driving the Danes out of Holstein but failing to seize Schleswig, which becomes the Danish province of Slesvig.
1866 – Completion of Anglo-Ottoman Suez Canal.
Late 1860s – Thornton method of refining steel (essentially same to OTL Bessemer process) spreads in Britain and soon in other countries as well.
1867 – Formation of the Low German Confederation under Prussia's leadership, including virtually all north German states. Close dynastic ties between Britain and Hanover, a member of the Confederation, plus extensive trade build generally good relations between Britain and the Confederation in years to come.
1867-71 – Brazil and Argentina defeat Paraguay in a long and bloody war. Argentina's government insists on annexing all conquests, leading to clashes with Brazil that almost start a new war between the allies. Eventually, Paraguay is partitioned between Argentina and Brazil in 1872. (Parallel to OTL war of the Triple Alliance. In the ATL Uruguay had earlier become a part of Brazil, so there were only two powers against Paraguay. The exact reasons for the war starting were different, it started later, and the Brazilian/Argentinian forces were able to defeat the Paraguayans with somewhat lower casualties than OTL. In OTL, Argentina's president wanted to partition Paraguay after the war but Brazil's government refused and Argentina did not want to press the issue too far.)
1870 – First commercial typewriter marketed in USA.
First railroad completed across North America, across Mexico (most nations further north don't consider this to be truly transcontinental because it didn't go across the wide part of the continent)
1870s – Early French experiments with submarines and self-propelled torpedoes.
1871 – Egypt begins campaign to expand its direct control south into the Sudan.
1872-75 – "Plains Wars" – a series of British/Colonial campaigns stamps out resistance from Native American tribes in the northern and central Plains territories of Missouri, Kansas, and King William's Land.
1873 – France purchases territory of Mozambique in southeast Africa from Portugal.
Practical incandescent electric light developed in France. Use quickly spreads throughout most developed nations.
1875 – Russians begin early experiments with rigid lighter-than air vehicles, but are severely hampered by the excessive weight of contemporary engine technology plus the volatility of hydrogen gas.
French begin to construct canal across the Isthmus of Panama with the support of the government of Columbia, which controls the region. Their efforts are severely hampered by outbreaks of Yellow fever and malaria.
1876-78 – Japanese Civil War – struggle between Russian-backed Tokugawa faction and opponents who are supported by Britain and also tacitly by the largely figurehead Emperor. The war ends with a victory for the Tokugawa forces, and the reigning Emperor is forced to abdicate and have his place taken by a more pliant relative. This confirms Russian influence as dominant in Japan.
1878 – French doctors in Panama conclude after a long study that both Malaria and Yellow fever are spread through mosquitoes. Programs to reduce mosquito populations and protect workers from mosquito bites quickly lower infection rates, allowing progress to resume on the canal.
First practical telephone demonstrated in British province of Upper Canada (slightly later than OTL)
1879 – North American Dominions Act establishes a greater degree of self-government for British territories in North America (although in practice some of the North American territories had been becoming more and more independent for years already). The new Dominions are Newfoundland (without Labrador); the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI); Canada (roughly OTL Quebec, Ontario, Michigan, parts of Wisconsin and Illinois); Missouri (roughly OTL north central US and south-central Canada, including the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, most of Minnesota, southern Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, eastern Montana and Wyoming; King William's Land (roughly OTL Manitoba, northern Minnesota, westernmost part of Ontario, northern and central Saskatchewan and Alberta; Oregon (roughly OTL Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, Yukon, western Montana and Wyoming); and Florida. Other areas in the north remain territories. Most of the Dominions are divided internally into two or more provinces.
Russian Tsar Peter IV convenes a Zemsky Sobor – an elected council composed of representatives of different groups within Russia – aristocrats, merchants, peasants, workers – that has only an advisory function. This is part of his program to make some concessions to changing social forces while reinforcing Russian nationalism and loyalty to the Tsar as a national father-figure, a strategy that turns out to be largely successful.
1880 – Two transcontinental railroads completed across the wider parts of North America – one runs along a central route from the USA through Louisiana, southern Missouri, Colorado, and California. The other runs further north from Canada through the northern provinces of Missouri and then through Oregon. In 1890 a route going through Louisiana, Texas, northern Mexico, and southern California will be completed.
1880s – Tension between Britain and France increases into as France openly attempts to build naval forces that can take control of the seas away from the Royal Navy.
1881 – Completion of canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Since this is controlled by a French company, a company supported by the British government attempts to build an alternate canal across Nicaragua, but they fail to attract enough investment to carry the project through and it is abandoned by 1890.
1882 – Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State sign an agreement with Britain, defeating French efforts to ally with the Afrikaners against the British.
France and Russia secretly sign a treaty of alliance – its existence soon becomes known to the British.
1883-84 – France seizes Tunis while Egypt invades Libya, which is still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire. Both invasions are successful. Britain backs down from war. Torpedoes used by small Egyptian craft against Ottoman ships, proving to be an effective weapon.
1884 – Conservative government wins election in Britain, promises expansion of naval and military expenditure throughout the Empire to counter both France and Russia.
1885 – Australasian Dominions Act sets up Dominions of New South Wales (roughly OTL New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia); West Australia (roughly OTL West Australia and most of Northern Territories); King Edward's Land (roughly OTL Queensland and part of Northern Territory); Van Diemen's Land (OTL Tasmania); and New Zealand (same as OTL New Zealand)
Kingdom of Hawaii signs treaty of Alliance with Britain and the Dominions that border the Pacific Ocean.
1886 - Customs union between the Austrian Empire and the southern German principalities of Bavaria, Wurttemburg, and Baden is expanded into a formal alliance.
1887-88 – China's weakening Manchu government gives special privileges in Manchuria and parts of northern China to Russia. Mongolia effectively becomes a Russian protectorate. Russia's ally France gets concessions in southern China near its growing Indochinese colonies. Japan gets concessions in Taiwan and a small area of the Shantung Peninsula. In response, Britain forces major concessions in the Canton area and much of the Yangtze river in central China.
1890s – First commercial road vehicles powered by internal combustion engines appear in France (1890), Britain and Germany (1891), USA and Russia (1893), soon followed by other countries
1892 – Russians develop rigid-framed lighter than air vessels (airships) powered by internal combustion engines
1894 – Britain acquires naval basing rights from Spain in the Philippines and Cuba
1895 – Discovery of gold in northern part of Oregon near the border with Russian Alaska raises tensions between Russia and Britain
1896 – Years of covert struggle between Russia and Britain for influence in Afghanistan ends with a triumph for Britain as Afghan Shah signs a treaty of alliance with Britain and expels Russian military advisors. Brief war scare in Britain, Russia, and France, but no war ensues.
1897 – Earliest effective radio transmission systems in Bavaria and the Netherlands
1898 – Brazil and Britain sign commercial treaty, Britain eclipses France as the dominant investor in Brazil. French investments concentrate in Columbia, Venezuela, and Argentina.
1899 – Completion of the Durazzo-Istanbul-Damascus-Baghdad-Basra railway, more commonly known as the trans-Ottoman railway. It is financed by British and Ottoman investors.
1901 – First heavier than air flight achieved in France (unlike OTL, this development is partly funded by the military)
Russia uses airships to bombard Uzbek rebels in central Asia – first use of these vehicles in combat.
)1775-83 – American Revolution as in OTL
1781 – Articles of Confederation giving the US a loose central government are ratified (OTL)
1783 – Treaty of Paris recognizes US independence with western boundaries along the Mississippi River
1785 – Death of George Washington after a sudden illness
1787-1789 – Three successive conventions attempt to find a new and more workable constitution but fail to come to any agreement
1789 – Beginning of French Revolution (OTL)
1790-91 – Outbreak of fighting between Vermont and New York, which claims Vermont as part of its own territory. Other New England states back Vermont. Pennsylvania and New Jersey support New York. More fighting starts in Pennsylvania where settlers from New England attempt to break away. All efforts to find a solution fail.
1792-94 – Further breaking apart of US as settlers in Franklin (OTL Tennessee) declare themselves independent, followed later by Kentucky. A truce between New York and Vermont breaks down with further clashes, and all New England states except for Rhode Island form their own government. Meanwhile, in Europe Louis XVI is deposed and later executed and the French Revolution enters its most radical phase while simultaneously going to war against several other European powers, as in OTL.
1795 – States from Maryland south to Georgia set up their own government. USA now includes only New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, plus some western territory. New England Federation (NEF), Confederation of Southern States (CSS), Kentucky, and Franklin are all independent. Britain retains outposts around Great Lakes, native Americans and Spanish dispute some territory with the Successor states of the US.
1798 – 1800 – USA, Kentucky, CSS join to defeat Native American opposition, partition western lands between Great Lakes and Kentucky. Kentucky and Franklin merge into the Free American Republic (FAR) in 1800. Rhode Island also joins the NEF in 1800.
1800 – Cotton Gin invented in South Carolina by a native inventor
1801 – Spain retrocedes Louisiana territory to France as in OTL
1802 – Eli Whitney develops a process for interchangeable musket parts that will make manufacture of muskets and rifles faster and the guns themselves easier to maintain and repair. Within 15 years, his original factory will grow into several factories making muskets and rifles for individual citizens and the militaries of several countries.
1802-3 – French garrison and some French settlers arrive in Louisiana
1805 – French Louisiana cut off from France after Franco-Spanish fleet is mostly destroyed by Britain – French governor gives generous land grants to get settlers from the CSS, FAR, and USA to settle in Louisiana in return for settlers serving in militia to help defend against British. Many thousands of settlers accept.
1806 – 1810 – First commercial steamboats appear on Hudson and then Mississippi rivers. They become especially popular along the Mississippi.
1806 – 1813 – Events in Europe follow about the same course as OTL, but in North America the British fail to capture New Orleans in 1810, but take effective control of most of northern Louisiana territory. Louisiana seizes a little bit of Spanish West Florida. From 1811-1813 British backed Indians defeat attempts by USA supported by FAR and CSS to drive them off their lands. In 1815 most of OTL Michigan and parts of OTL Wisconsin and Illinois are ceded by the US and become an Indian territory under British protection. Southern Louisiana is recognized as an independent nation, with New Orleans as a free port and the Mississippi open to trade by all nations.
1822 – Britain announces that it will oppose efforts by continental European powers to assist Spain in recovering its American colonies, which are being lost to successful rebel movements. All of the independent North American nations support Britain in this action.
1820s-30s – Commercial railroads begin to appear in Britain, quickly spread to continental Europe and North America (as in OTL, perhaps just a tiny bit faster)
1825 – Russian Tsar Alexander I recovers from a serious illness, and reigns for another 26 years
1829 – Britain purchases Spanish Florida, which Spain is not interested in keeping and which the CSS was unable to gather enough money to purchase.
1830 – Ultra-conservative French King Charles X overthrown, and replaced by his cousin Louis-Philippe. (same as OTL) A minor uprising in the southern Netherlands is suppressed, but the Netherlands makes some concessions to giving the Catholic southern part of the country more autonomy.
1830-32 – First war between Ottoman Empire and its nominal province of Egypt, which is effectively acting as an independent country. Results are inconclusive.
1832 – Russian Baron Pavel Schilling develops an electrical telegraph, and is encouraged by the government to develop a more sophisticated version by 1835. This device is soon copied in other countries, and modified versions of the "Schilling code" become standard for telegraphic communications.
Slave revolts in the CSS and Louisiana are suppressed.
1833 – Mexican Emperor Iturbide offers sanctuary for ex-slaves and free blacks to settle in Mexico.
1834 – France invades Algeria under the pretext that a French ambassador was insulted (slightly later than OTL)
1835 – CSS and FAR merge into the American Confederation.
Whitney firearms begins marketing the first revolver, which is an instant success.
1836-38 – English and French speaking settlers in Mexico's Tejas province attempt to break away. They are successful, but Mexico retains hold of lands between the Rio Grande and Nueces rivers. Mexico uses 2 regiments of black ex-slaves and encourages slaves held by rebellious settlers to desert. The majority of ex-slaves in Mexico settle in southern Tejas, helping guard against encroachment from slaveholding Texas to the north.
1842-43 – Britain has allowed more white settlers in the Indian Territory in recent years, and now faces attacks from several groups of Native Americans who feel threatened by this. The Native Americans are defeated and the territory is changed to the Michigan territory, although the Native Americans still get large reservations.
1846 – "Latter Day Saints", the followers of an unusual version of Christianity that has spread in the USA and NEF but faced persecution, move to British controlled Iowa territory. The British allow them to settle in the thinly populated territory as a counterweight to the USA and Louisiana.
Britain forces China to open ports to western trade following a brief military conflict (slightly later than OTL Opium War)
1847 – Government of Louis Philippe makes some concessions to middle-class demands such as freedom of speech.
Gold discovered in California
1848 – Sporadic uprisings in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and a few other European cities are suppressed (these are less broad-based and organized than OTL 1848 uprisings, and make much less of an impact on politics and culture.
1850-51 – Russia attacks Ottoman Empire after Ottomans refuse to make concessions, annexes Bessarabia and forces Ottomans to grant Russia extensive economic and political rights within Ottoman territory. (Russia is developing faster economically than in OTL and has a more effective army.) Ottomans strengthen ties with Britain after this.
1853 – California achieves independence from Mexico peacefully, supported by Britain
Gold discovered in Australia, triggering another gold rush.
1854 – Russia forces China to cede lands north of the Amur River (I believe this happened slightly later in OTL)
1856 – First transatlantic telegraph cable laid between Bristol, England, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. It functions for less than a week before breaking.
1857 – Russia founds new port on Pacific (same location as OTL Vladivostok, though it has a different name)
1857-59 – War erupts between Britain on one side and the American Confederation and Louisiana on the other, after disputes that center around Britain refusing to return runaway slaves who have fled into British territories in Florida and Kansas. This war also helps start a secondary clash between the USA and Britain. In the end, little is resolved. This war sees the first use of breech-loading rifles, mainly by the British.
1858 – New England Federation passes new laws sharply restricting Catholic immigration and prescribing 20 year waiting period for all non-English speaking people before applying for citizenship. This law is pushed through by the Federal Nativist party, and caps years of mounting anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment in New England.
Russian Tsar Alexander II declares gradual end of serfdom – this is changed to full end of serfdom in 1860.
1859 – First underwater telegraph cable that functions long-term is laid between England and Nova Scotia
1859-61 – Second war between Ottoman Empire and its nominal province of Egypt. The Ottomans refuse Russian aid proposals, and turn to Britain for aid instead. Egypt gets aid from France. Victory for the Ottomans, who push Egyptian forces back to Nile Delta. First use of ironclad gunboats and repeating rifles by the Ottomans (supplied by Britain), and mines against ships by Egyptians.
1860 – "Hermit Land" of Japan forced to give trading concessions to Russia when Russia's Pacific squadron sails on a "tour" of Japanese ports.
1862 – British-Ottoman project begins to construct canal across the Isthmus of Suez
Britain ends transportation of convicts to any part of Australia.
1864 – Settlers in the northernmost Mexican province of Colorado declare independence from Mexico as the Republic of Colorado. Mexico does not try to hold on to this province, since it is too remote and the Mexican government has troubles closer to home.
1865 – Denmark announces annexation of territories of Schleswig and Holstein. A coalition of northern German states led by Prussia goes to war, driving the Danes out of Holstein but failing to seize Schleswig, which becomes the Danish province of Slesvig.
1866 – Completion of Anglo-Ottoman Suez Canal.
Late 1860s – Thornton method of refining steel (essentially same to OTL Bessemer process) spreads in Britain and soon in other countries as well.
1867 – Formation of the Low German Confederation under Prussia's leadership, including virtually all north German states. Close dynastic ties between Britain and Hanover, a member of the Confederation, plus extensive trade build generally good relations between Britain and the Confederation in years to come.
1867-71 – Brazil and Argentina defeat Paraguay in a long and bloody war. Argentina's government insists on annexing all conquests, leading to clashes with Brazil that almost start a new war between the allies. Eventually, Paraguay is partitioned between Argentina and Brazil in 1872. (Parallel to OTL war of the Triple Alliance. In the ATL Uruguay had earlier become a part of Brazil, so there were only two powers against Paraguay. The exact reasons for the war starting were different, it started later, and the Brazilian/Argentinian forces were able to defeat the Paraguayans with somewhat lower casualties than OTL. In OTL, Argentina's president wanted to partition Paraguay after the war but Brazil's government refused and Argentina did not want to press the issue too far.)
1870 – First commercial typewriter marketed in USA.
First railroad completed across North America, across Mexico (most nations further north don't consider this to be truly transcontinental because it didn't go across the wide part of the continent)
1870s – Early French experiments with submarines and self-propelled torpedoes.
1871 – Egypt begins campaign to expand its direct control south into the Sudan.
1872-75 – "Plains Wars" – a series of British/Colonial campaigns stamps out resistance from Native American tribes in the northern and central Plains territories of Missouri, Kansas, and King William's Land.
1873 – France purchases territory of Mozambique in southeast Africa from Portugal.
Practical incandescent electric light developed in France. Use quickly spreads throughout most developed nations.
1875 – Russians begin early experiments with rigid lighter-than air vehicles, but are severely hampered by the excessive weight of contemporary engine technology plus the volatility of hydrogen gas.
French begin to construct canal across the Isthmus of Panama with the support of the government of Columbia, which controls the region. Their efforts are severely hampered by outbreaks of Yellow fever and malaria.
1876-78 – Japanese Civil War – struggle between Russian-backed Tokugawa faction and opponents who are supported by Britain and also tacitly by the largely figurehead Emperor. The war ends with a victory for the Tokugawa forces, and the reigning Emperor is forced to abdicate and have his place taken by a more pliant relative. This confirms Russian influence as dominant in Japan.
1878 – French doctors in Panama conclude after a long study that both Malaria and Yellow fever are spread through mosquitoes. Programs to reduce mosquito populations and protect workers from mosquito bites quickly lower infection rates, allowing progress to resume on the canal.
First practical telephone demonstrated in British province of Upper Canada (slightly later than OTL)
1879 – North American Dominions Act establishes a greater degree of self-government for British territories in North America (although in practice some of the North American territories had been becoming more and more independent for years already). The new Dominions are Newfoundland (without Labrador); the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI); Canada (roughly OTL Quebec, Ontario, Michigan, parts of Wisconsin and Illinois); Missouri (roughly OTL north central US and south-central Canada, including the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, most of Minnesota, southern Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, eastern Montana and Wyoming; King William's Land (roughly OTL Manitoba, northern Minnesota, westernmost part of Ontario, northern and central Saskatchewan and Alberta; Oregon (roughly OTL Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, Yukon, western Montana and Wyoming); and Florida. Other areas in the north remain territories. Most of the Dominions are divided internally into two or more provinces.
Russian Tsar Peter IV convenes a Zemsky Sobor – an elected council composed of representatives of different groups within Russia – aristocrats, merchants, peasants, workers – that has only an advisory function. This is part of his program to make some concessions to changing social forces while reinforcing Russian nationalism and loyalty to the Tsar as a national father-figure, a strategy that turns out to be largely successful.
1880 – Two transcontinental railroads completed across the wider parts of North America – one runs along a central route from the USA through Louisiana, southern Missouri, Colorado, and California. The other runs further north from Canada through the northern provinces of Missouri and then through Oregon. In 1890 a route going through Louisiana, Texas, northern Mexico, and southern California will be completed.
1880s – Tension between Britain and France increases into as France openly attempts to build naval forces that can take control of the seas away from the Royal Navy.
1881 – Completion of canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Since this is controlled by a French company, a company supported by the British government attempts to build an alternate canal across Nicaragua, but they fail to attract enough investment to carry the project through and it is abandoned by 1890.
1882 – Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State sign an agreement with Britain, defeating French efforts to ally with the Afrikaners against the British.
France and Russia secretly sign a treaty of alliance – its existence soon becomes known to the British.
1883-84 – France seizes Tunis while Egypt invades Libya, which is still nominally part of the Ottoman Empire. Both invasions are successful. Britain backs down from war. Torpedoes used by small Egyptian craft against Ottoman ships, proving to be an effective weapon.
1884 – Conservative government wins election in Britain, promises expansion of naval and military expenditure throughout the Empire to counter both France and Russia.
1885 – Australasian Dominions Act sets up Dominions of New South Wales (roughly OTL New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia); West Australia (roughly OTL West Australia and most of Northern Territories); King Edward's Land (roughly OTL Queensland and part of Northern Territory); Van Diemen's Land (OTL Tasmania); and New Zealand (same as OTL New Zealand)
Kingdom of Hawaii signs treaty of Alliance with Britain and the Dominions that border the Pacific Ocean.
1886 - Customs union between the Austrian Empire and the southern German principalities of Bavaria, Wurttemburg, and Baden is expanded into a formal alliance.
1887-88 – China's weakening Manchu government gives special privileges in Manchuria and parts of northern China to Russia. Mongolia effectively becomes a Russian protectorate. Russia's ally France gets concessions in southern China near its growing Indochinese colonies. Japan gets concessions in Taiwan and a small area of the Shantung Peninsula. In response, Britain forces major concessions in the Canton area and much of the Yangtze river in central China.
1890s – First commercial road vehicles powered by internal combustion engines appear in France (1890), Britain and Germany (1891), USA and Russia (1893), soon followed by other countries
1892 – Russians develop rigid-framed lighter than air vessels (airships) powered by internal combustion engines
1894 – Britain acquires naval basing rights from Spain in the Philippines and Cuba
1895 – Discovery of gold in northern part of Oregon near the border with Russian Alaska raises tensions between Russia and Britain
1896 – Years of covert struggle between Russia and Britain for influence in Afghanistan ends with a triumph for Britain as Afghan Shah signs a treaty of alliance with Britain and expels Russian military advisors. Brief war scare in Britain, Russia, and France, but no war ensues.
1897 – Earliest effective radio transmission systems in Bavaria and the Netherlands
1898 – Brazil and Britain sign commercial treaty, Britain eclipses France as the dominant investor in Brazil. French investments concentrate in Columbia, Venezuela, and Argentina.
1899 – Completion of the Durazzo-Istanbul-Damascus-Baghdad-Basra railway, more commonly known as the trans-Ottoman railway. It is financed by British and Ottoman investors.
1901 – First heavier than air flight achieved in France (unlike OTL, this development is partly funded by the military)
Russia uses airships to bombard Uzbek rebels in central Asia – first use of these vehicles in combat.
