What if the rise of the Ottoman Empire had gone differently?

The Ottomans consolidate an empire straddling the land routes between Europe and Asia.

If it had gone differently: The eastern Mediterranean stays contested and open; no single power can tax or close the road to the East.

The real history on Wikipedia ↗

Later turning points that leaned on the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Change it in the game and the ripples reach all of these.

1. 1453The fall of Constantinople. Without it, The Mediterranean spice routes stay open and cheap; no one in Iberia is desperate enough to gamble on the open ocean.
2. 1498The sea route to India. Without it, Europe's trade with Asia stays overland and heavily taxed; the seaborne empires of the Dutch and English have no template.