Cahokia Jazz

The book is an alternative history set in the city of Cahokia, near present-day St. Louis. In the book's timeline a less deadly strain of smallpox was introduced to the Americas, giving the Native Americans immunity against the other, more deadly, smallpox strains.^[3]

During the Colonisation of North America, several Native American tribes allied themselves into a single nation, with Cahokia as its capital. The Cahokians develop a synthetic language called Anopa based on Mobilian trade jargon and convert to Catholicism after encounters with Jesuit missionaries.^[4]

Cahokia joins the US Civil War on the side of the Union, fearful that it may otherwise be invaded by Ulysses S. Grant's army as it seeks to progress south via the Mississippi river. As part of the settlement, Cahokia cedes its claim to the state of Mississippi, and agrees to join the United States.^[5] The Navajo tribe also join the United States as a state.^[6]

The Cahokians allowed the safe passage of the Mormons to Utah, where they established the Republic of Deseret, which did not join the United States.^[7]

Alaska remains part of the Russian Empire, and concurrently with the book, is a party in the Russian Civil War.^[8]

Cahokia has developed into a multi-ethnic city, with Native Americans making up the majority of the population, Europeans of various ethnicities forming their own communities such as Germantown and Little Italy, and African Americans also having a substantial presence. The city has many features that would be common in the United States in the early 20th century such as a street car system, a thriving jazz scene, a newspaper and a radio station.