What If?

History is often the study of a great many "might have beens"; any good historian - no, scratch that - any decent student will find him or herself frequently asking one of the most tempting questions of all...what if?

What if Caesar had not been assassinated? What if Rome did not fall? What if Constantine had failed? What is Harold Godwinson had managed to repel the duke of Normandy? What if the Crusades had successfully held the Holy Land? What if Henry II had not managed to establish Plantagenet supremacy during his reign? What if the church had welcomed Luther theses and reformed with his help? What if Zwingli and Luther had gotten along? What if Henry VIII had remained married to Catherine of Aragon? What if Philip V's armada had succeeded? What if...

For a studied historian, there are literally numberless possibilities to reflect and consider. While some of these might be flights of fancy, true scholarship demands a little effort before the benefits of such daydreams becomes evident.

To that end, there is an offer of extra credit available. Here are the terms:

**You must develop a "What if..." scenario based on history we have studied this year.

**You must write between 1 1/2 - 2 pages as you flesh out this scenario.

**The paper must introduce the topic (what event(s) are you reflecting on, why does it matter, etc), propose a *viable* hypothetical alternative (don't ponder how the presence of aliens might have influenced the crowning of Charlemagne; this should be based in real history, considering an alternative which easily *could* have happened), and finally reflect on what consequences would have come about from this new event.

**You should demonstrate a grasp of the flow of the events in question, and how easily things might have been different, if one element changed; you should also demonstrate your vision for the repercussions of this change on the grand scale of European and even global history, culture, etc.

Completing this assignment can earn you as much as 10% extra credit, granted to the last test you took in history class; the amount of credit awarded will depend on the quality of the work submitted.

This paper MUST be turned in on or before March 22. Anything after that will not be eligible to receive credit; your labor will be merely for the love of considering history and all of it's quirky nuances...

Good luck!