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Post by MinnesotaNationalist on Oct 23, 2016 5:24:35 GMT
Here's an interesting scenario for all y'all: What if the Americas were not discovered until Satellites were launched into space and started giving us a more detailed planet (and therefor accidentally giving old worlders details of the Americas)? I will say that this is ASB even compared to other ASB scenarios. I think actual alien space bats coming to take over the world is actually more realistic than this, but nevertheless...
Let's say Colombus assumed the correct circumference of the Earth, and he, along with every other old worlder (even into the age of the plane), decided that heading across into the Atlanto-Pacific would to risky, and instead focused on the route around Africa and the more traditional paths.
Question 1: Who and what would likely happen from 1500 to whenever Satellites are launched into space (for simplicity's sake, let's say that's still about 1950-60), so a 450-60 year window to work with. This includes what would happen in the Americas
Question 2: What would happen immediately after discovering the Americas?
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Post by Krall on Oct 23, 2016 6:49:32 GMT
I believe the European discovery and exploitation of the Americas was a major factor in the predominance of the contintent. Crops gained through the Columbian Exchange - mainly potatoes - were also important for population growth in Europe. So, without the discovery of the Americas, it's unlikely that Europe would become a region of extremely powerful countries able to project power around the globe. Certainly they wouldn't reach the same level of universal dominance that they did in OTL. I suppose that would mean the Old World is more evenly developed, with no one region clearly dominating, with a variety of regional powers.
The Americas would also evolve differently, given several hundred extra years without contact with the Old World. I'm not sure how much they'd be able to "catch up", but I imagine they'd at least be well into a Bronze Age, where copper alloys are used widely for tools and weaponry.
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Post by eDGT on Oct 23, 2016 14:21:26 GMT
The Ottomans will remain a borderline superpower for a great deal longer, hell I could very easily see European traders following behind Ottoman explorers and conquistadors if they started to expand into the African interior, or the Indian Ocean.
Russia could also do rather well for themselves, they're the only nation with the potential to turn Siberia into a true breadbasket, and without the US there's going to be a need for hella grain and beef when global population starts to the hundreds of millions.
Though Europe still could do rather well for themselves. Without Spanish gold and silver attempts at Reformation are probably going to end with the "Protestantism" as the dominant religion outside of the Med, and we all know that Prods are industrious little buggers. Western Europe could do very well as the workshop of the lord if *Protestant constitutional monarchies and Merchant Republics get themselves into a good position, turning the raw material of Siberia and Africa into luxury goods for Moscow and Istanbul.
If Europe is more export focused then China will probably do alright in the late period. Early Russian expansion may lead to northern chaos in the form of displaced nomads, but it's not like that's new for them. Smart regimes would take of Turkish and European traders opening up new markets by sending their own merchants into India and Indonesia, but of course that's not guaranteed. More than likely China will just do what it normally does, sit there looking wealthy whilst surrounding themselves with vassals. Expect skirmishing with Russia in the future.
Australia would be a massive "discovery" in this world. I most likely see the Ottomans taking it, and it quickly filling up with Europeans, Chinese, and Indonesian settlers. Of course you could also have China taking it early, or possibly a European scramble. And from there it's only a little jaunt before you're in the South Pacific!
Speaking off there's plenty of opportunities for First Contact to be achieved by non-Chinese, Turkish, or Europeans. The Pacific Islanders could make contact with the Inca, as they possibly did IOTL. There's also the Ainu, Siberians along the Bering Sea, and even Japanese fishermen who could make contact with the Pacific North West and end up being ignored by the Chinese and Russians. And of course the Icelanders will probably do a small bit of trade with the natives in *Labrador and *Newfoundland without anyone on the continent questioning them.
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Tangle
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Post by Tangle on Oct 27, 2016 22:38:16 GMT
The Inca are definitely the strongest in South America, once they get over that whole "We Had A Civil War" thing...
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