And speaking of counterfactuals…
Check out Civilisations by Laurent Binet!
As the Guardian says “Each of Civilisations’ four parts poses as a historical document, and the main story runs for most of a 16th century that never happened – from when a ragtag Inca expeditionary force, fleeing civil war in South America, makes landfall in Lisbon, to the years after the Battle of Lepanto (which is, spoiler alert, fought between different forces than the real one).”
“Various counterfactual shenanigans play out. Inca/European dynastic alliances are forged. Atahualpa wins hearts and minds by promulgating religious tolerance and a series of quasi-socialist land reforms that sound a great deal more appealing than what was actually on offer in Europe in the real 16th century. The Reformation happens, but not quite in the way you might expect – especially as regards the Church of England.”
Fancy checking it out?