Hesperia [2nd try]
- Thread starter DuQuense
- Start date
"HESPERIA" Part one-Beginnings
{I'm going to use OTL names, I'm to lazy to try to be making up Roman Names}
"HESPERIA" Part one-Beginnings
In fall 50 B.C. a fleet of 25 ships sailed thru the Pillars of Hercules on a Trading mission to Cornwall {tin}. Unfortunally [for them] they ran into a hurricane that blew them far to the south. What great feats of seamanship allowed them to survive And stay together, are lost in the mists of history, but we know that 12 of the ships ended up wrecked along the coast , close to the mouth of the Senegal River. They discovered the land covered with tropical Fruits with a small native Population. Five of the other Ships ended up wrecked on the Fortune [canaries] Islands, where they were discovered later.
It took a over seven years, While they lived and Married with the local Malinke Tribesmen. But, they managed to repair two of the ships for the return to Roman territory. Behind them they left a small Roman colony. With them they took a cargo [they were merchants after all] of wine made from the tropical fruit, [a big Hit when they got to Rome]. Also in the Cargo was Ivory, Gold, and Exotic Woods.
This led to a trade route where the Romans sailed down the coast, pass the Sahara. Over the next century small Supply camps were established along the coast, a day apart. Wherever water supplies were found, the camps started to grow. By 50 AD a string of Supply camps stretched from The Greater Pillars of Hercules, south to beyond the Senegal River.
Along the Coast these Camps began to be visited by the Berber & Semitic Tribesmen in the north, and Malinke, Asante, and Dahomey Tribesmen in the south, The camps Started trading with the locals, and Grew. Not all Visits were always Friendly, So soldiers joined the Camps. The Soldiers at the camps laid them out in the Army fashion, Streets, Roads & Walls were built. There also was a small number of farmers in with the settlers, so the camps became surrounded by Fields. There was also Fishing as a source of food, for the Camps, but here almost all of fishing was done by the Natives, thru they had no Problem, finding a ready Market.
As most of the Settlers in these camps were male the trade involved more than just goods. This Rapidly lead to the population of the camps and surrounding areas beginning to be a mixed Blood. By 200 -300 AD some of the camps had grown into small towns. Many of these raised their own local forces, modeled on the old Republic style, Citizen Legions. The difference being that at the heart of each local Legion was a small group of Professional Soldiers. Trained in the Imperial Legions back in Rome, and sent here to retire.
Of Course along with the soldiers came a Imperial Governor, But due to the Distances involved between the Camps, A tradition of local control, by a Council* of the leading citizens developed. Most of these Councils consisted of the Main Merchants, the Local Commander, the larger Farmers, and maybe the local Native Chief, [depending on how local relations, were going]. In turn these councils would send representatives to the Provincial Senate in Roma Australis.
* I'm envisioning a {Chamber of Commerce} type Council here, with the Provincial Senate, being like the National C of C.
{I'm going to use OTL names, I'm to lazy to try to be making up Roman Names}
"HESPERIA" Part one-Beginnings
In fall 50 B.C. a fleet of 25 ships sailed thru the Pillars of Hercules on a Trading mission to Cornwall {tin}. Unfortunally [for them] they ran into a hurricane that blew them far to the south. What great feats of seamanship allowed them to survive And stay together, are lost in the mists of history, but we know that 12 of the ships ended up wrecked along the coast , close to the mouth of the Senegal River. They discovered the land covered with tropical Fruits with a small native Population. Five of the other Ships ended up wrecked on the Fortune [canaries] Islands, where they were discovered later.
It took a over seven years, While they lived and Married with the local Malinke Tribesmen. But, they managed to repair two of the ships for the return to Roman territory. Behind them they left a small Roman colony. With them they took a cargo [they were merchants after all] of wine made from the tropical fruit, [a big Hit when they got to Rome]. Also in the Cargo was Ivory, Gold, and Exotic Woods.
This led to a trade route where the Romans sailed down the coast, pass the Sahara. Over the next century small Supply camps were established along the coast, a day apart. Wherever water supplies were found, the camps started to grow. By 50 AD a string of Supply camps stretched from The Greater Pillars of Hercules, south to beyond the Senegal River.
Along the Coast these Camps began to be visited by the Berber & Semitic Tribesmen in the north, and Malinke, Asante, and Dahomey Tribesmen in the south, The camps Started trading with the locals, and Grew. Not all Visits were always Friendly, So soldiers joined the Camps. The Soldiers at the camps laid them out in the Army fashion, Streets, Roads & Walls were built. There also was a small number of farmers in with the settlers, so the camps became surrounded by Fields. There was also Fishing as a source of food, for the Camps, but here almost all of fishing was done by the Natives, thru they had no Problem, finding a ready Market.
As most of the Settlers in these camps were male the trade involved more than just goods. This Rapidly lead to the population of the camps and surrounding areas beginning to be a mixed Blood. By 200 -300 AD some of the camps had grown into small towns. Many of these raised their own local forces, modeled on the old Republic style, Citizen Legions. The difference being that at the heart of each local Legion was a small group of Professional Soldiers. Trained in the Imperial Legions back in Rome, and sent here to retire.
Of Course along with the soldiers came a Imperial Governor, But due to the Distances involved between the Camps, A tradition of local control, by a Council* of the leading citizens developed. Most of these Councils consisted of the Main Merchants, the Local Commander, the larger Farmers, and maybe the local Native Chief, [depending on how local relations, were going]. In turn these councils would send representatives to the Provincial Senate in Roma Australis.
* I'm envisioning a {Chamber of Commerce} type Council here, with the Provincial Senate, being like the National C of C.
"HESPERIA": Part two; Roma Australis
"HESPERIA" Part two- [ Roma Australis]**
In 50 B.C. Due to a major storm a small colony of Roman Merchants was established in the Cape Verde- Senegal River Area. Doing a brisk trade in Ivory, Exotic Woods, Citrus Wine, & Precious Metals*, a trade Route of supply camps was established along the coast. Of course, these camps followed the "Law of Unintended consequences"
Within a couple centuries, these camps had grown into small towns, and were generating more in the way of Trade & Revenue, than the Colony they were built to support.
Near the Southern end of the Trade route, was the first & largest camp of all. Sitting at the Mouth of the Senegal River, was the Camp "Roma Australis". Situated on the fertile delta with a good source of Water, the camp seemed to double and Triple in size, overnight. By the early ~100's the camp, had become a small town, of over 5,000 Souls. By The third century when the other camp were growing into towns, Roma Australis was already a small City, of over 20,000. As such there was never a question on where the Capital of the Province of Hesperia would be.
The first group of Soldiers sent to help protect the Camps, fortunally included some Greek Engineers & Architects. As such most of the first Temples, & other Public Buildings, were in the Open Greek Style. This style was then reproduced in the other camps, along the coast. Thro they didn't know it at the time, this was a great style for the climate they would encounter as they later expanded southward. Even the adoption of Christianity in the 300's didn't change this, as the Christians simply reused the same old temples. Even today this is the prevalent style of Public building, in Hesperia, and her former Colonies.
By ~350 A.D. Roma Australis and Hesperia were well established, With it's own Soldiers, harborages, Stone walls, Fields, and of course roads. While the Roads into the interior were short, [20~40 miles up river] the north-south roads were much longer reaching almost 300 good Roman Miles north and south from Roma de Sud, and tieing the coast together into a Economic unit that rivaled the Axum empire in the East. Shipping quantities of Ivory, Exotic Timber, Dried Fruit, Precious metals,* and of course the Citrus wine that started it all.
* The Natives at the time used a mixture of Bronze [arrows & spears] with Iron [Knifes & Axes] The Precious metals include Copper, Tin, Silver & Gold, thru the main deposits of these metals are farther along the coast to OTLs Ghana
**Roma Australis is {South Rome} in Latin- Maybe- depending on pharesing
"HESPERIA" Part two- [ Roma Australis]**
In 50 B.C. Due to a major storm a small colony of Roman Merchants was established in the Cape Verde- Senegal River Area. Doing a brisk trade in Ivory, Exotic Woods, Citrus Wine, & Precious Metals*, a trade Route of supply camps was established along the coast. Of course, these camps followed the "Law of Unintended consequences"
Within a couple centuries, these camps had grown into small towns, and were generating more in the way of Trade & Revenue, than the Colony they were built to support.
Near the Southern end of the Trade route, was the first & largest camp of all. Sitting at the Mouth of the Senegal River, was the Camp "Roma Australis". Situated on the fertile delta with a good source of Water, the camp seemed to double and Triple in size, overnight. By the early ~100's the camp, had become a small town, of over 5,000 Souls. By The third century when the other camp were growing into towns, Roma Australis was already a small City, of over 20,000. As such there was never a question on where the Capital of the Province of Hesperia would be.
The first group of Soldiers sent to help protect the Camps, fortunally included some Greek Engineers & Architects. As such most of the first Temples, & other Public Buildings, were in the Open Greek Style. This style was then reproduced in the other camps, along the coast. Thro they didn't know it at the time, this was a great style for the climate they would encounter as they later expanded southward. Even the adoption of Christianity in the 300's didn't change this, as the Christians simply reused the same old temples. Even today this is the prevalent style of Public building, in Hesperia, and her former Colonies.
By ~350 A.D. Roma Australis and Hesperia were well established, With it's own Soldiers, harborages, Stone walls, Fields, and of course roads. While the Roads into the interior were short, [20~40 miles up river] the north-south roads were much longer reaching almost 300 good Roman Miles north and south from Roma de Sud, and tieing the coast together into a Economic unit that rivaled the Axum empire in the East. Shipping quantities of Ivory, Exotic Timber, Dried Fruit, Precious metals,* and of course the Citrus wine that started it all.
* The Natives at the time used a mixture of Bronze [arrows & spears] with Iron [Knifes & Axes] The Precious metals include Copper, Tin, Silver & Gold, thru the main deposits of these metals are farther along the coast to OTLs Ghana
**Roma Australis is {South Rome} in Latin- Maybe- depending on pharesing
Cool timeline. A nice break from the usual 'Romans in America'
Why would it take so long? Ships for coastal traffic would be easier to build than for transocean voyages, and there is abundant timber. Did they start with the intention of taking everyone home? Wouldn't it make more sense to build one ship, send it north with a few people to call help, and be picked up by a fleet of compatriots?
Of course, there is always the chance the messenger boat is lost, and even then, with the Roman civil war going on, there's no certainty of having the ships for a pickup. Did they know that? (50 BC is a good time for traders to expect a long peace. Perhaps, once they find out what's brewing at home in 43, they don't want to go home?)
This could become a problem. Augustus had to deal with a serious manpower shortage for his military (towards the end of his reign there were riots and mutinies by troops who had been kept in service for thirty and more years in violation of the promise their tour would be sixteen years). After the loss of three legions in Germany, he did not recruit new ones, knowing full well his political standing depended on delivering the one thing the Roman world wanted above all - Peace. Italy was unhappy enough seeing her sons troop out to Germany, imagine the anger at having them dispatched to Africa.
The troops he could deploy would have been auxiliaries and fleet soldiers. At this point, auxiliaries were still much less Romanised, and most fleet soldiers were recruited from the Greek East, so the more likely cultural influence would be a wider mixture of Mediterraneans rather than Roman legionaries. That is probably a good thing, too.
Alternatively, the whole area might just have been turned over to the client state Mauretania. Roman policy at the time was still much in favour of running things through locals, and I guess themauretanian kings would be happy to oblige. The Punic cities could have provided the shipbuilding experience, and the Mauretanian armies the soldiers. Mauretania was an increasinfgy Romanised pseudo-Hellenistic kingdom with strong Punic overtones - a very interesting blend. Once it is taken over, of course, the coastal settlements would come under Roman control.
I don't think they would raise citizen legions. See above, the Roman element is likely not to be that strong. An interesting foil is found in the military-commercial society that emerged on the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Here, the upper class was made up of legionaries, veterans, and Roman (or rather, Mediterranean littoral) merchants mixed with a sprinkling of local chiefs. By the second generation, auxiliary veterans joined them and service in either arm was the route to social ascent. Military virtues were highly regarded, and the fact that auxiliary veterans received Roman citizenship meant that recruitment for the legions could become self-sustaining. You had a society that centered around war and business, with large numbers of men trained and habituated to war - and strong emotional ties to the emperor and the army, not Rome or the home country.
Absent a great military threat, I would assuime the military presemnce to be somewhat smaller, but even a few auxiliary cohorts and a 'classis Hesperiana' should work as focal points for such social transformation. If they are Imperial troops (I would not expect that before AD 50 or so), there will be a strong link to the emperor and the army, with the usual insignia cult, emperor-worship, and ties into the great military machine of Rome (however tenuous).
The local council is a very likely development and pretty much exactly how the Romans tended to run things. There were provincial councils throughout the Empire, articulating the wishes of the provinces and mediating between the cities and the governors. With a governor far away (I doubt a scattered trade settlement would not be worth much to the land-oriented, traditionally nonmaritime Rome - maybe an equestrian procurator or even just a military prefecture. Unless there are vast territorial gains I don't expect to see a legate in place), they would have to accommodate themselves with the military commanders to run the show. Given most military commanders expected to join the very upper classes who dominated the councils on retirement, that should not be too hard. However, to invite the officers to join would be unusual. Maybe some kind of formalised 'observer' role with speaking rights?
What happens once the later empire puts on the squeeze? I guess commercial and political ties mean Hesperia goes with the Spanish and North African provinces? Would there be barbarian invasions here? The military, as a social institution, is well placed to receive them, and like in many border provinces I don't see there would be a problem with recruitment, hence no great loss of effectiveness. Do the barbarians integrate?
I look forward to reading more
DuQuense said:
Why would it take so long? Ships for coastal traffic would be easier to build than for transocean voyages, and there is abundant timber. Did they start with the intention of taking everyone home? Wouldn't it make more sense to build one ship, send it north with a few people to call help, and be picked up by a fleet of compatriots?
Of course, there is always the chance the messenger boat is lost, and even then, with the Roman civil war going on, there's no certainty of having the ships for a pickup. Did they know that? (50 BC is a good time for traders to expect a long peace. Perhaps, once they find out what's brewing at home in 43, they don't want to go home?)
DuQuense said:
This could become a problem. Augustus had to deal with a serious manpower shortage for his military (towards the end of his reign there were riots and mutinies by troops who had been kept in service for thirty and more years in violation of the promise their tour would be sixteen years). After the loss of three legions in Germany, he did not recruit new ones, knowing full well his political standing depended on delivering the one thing the Roman world wanted above all - Peace. Italy was unhappy enough seeing her sons troop out to Germany, imagine the anger at having them dispatched to Africa.
The troops he could deploy would have been auxiliaries and fleet soldiers. At this point, auxiliaries were still much less Romanised, and most fleet soldiers were recruited from the Greek East, so the more likely cultural influence would be a wider mixture of Mediterraneans rather than Roman legionaries. That is probably a good thing, too.
Alternatively, the whole area might just have been turned over to the client state Mauretania. Roman policy at the time was still much in favour of running things through locals, and I guess themauretanian kings would be happy to oblige. The Punic cities could have provided the shipbuilding experience, and the Mauretanian armies the soldiers. Mauretania was an increasinfgy Romanised pseudo-Hellenistic kingdom with strong Punic overtones - a very interesting blend. Once it is taken over, of course, the coastal settlements would come under Roman control.
I don't think they would raise citizen legions. See above, the Roman element is likely not to be that strong. An interesting foil is found in the military-commercial society that emerged on the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Here, the upper class was made up of legionaries, veterans, and Roman (or rather, Mediterranean littoral) merchants mixed with a sprinkling of local chiefs. By the second generation, auxiliary veterans joined them and service in either arm was the route to social ascent. Military virtues were highly regarded, and the fact that auxiliary veterans received Roman citizenship meant that recruitment for the legions could become self-sustaining. You had a society that centered around war and business, with large numbers of men trained and habituated to war - and strong emotional ties to the emperor and the army, not Rome or the home country.
Absent a great military threat, I would assuime the military presemnce to be somewhat smaller, but even a few auxiliary cohorts and a 'classis Hesperiana' should work as focal points for such social transformation. If they are Imperial troops (I would not expect that before AD 50 or so), there will be a strong link to the emperor and the army, with the usual insignia cult, emperor-worship, and ties into the great military machine of Rome (however tenuous).
The local council is a very likely development and pretty much exactly how the Romans tended to run things. There were provincial councils throughout the Empire, articulating the wishes of the provinces and mediating between the cities and the governors. With a governor far away (I doubt a scattered trade settlement would not be worth much to the land-oriented, traditionally nonmaritime Rome - maybe an equestrian procurator or even just a military prefecture. Unless there are vast territorial gains I don't expect to see a legate in place), they would have to accommodate themselves with the military commanders to run the show. Given most military commanders expected to join the very upper classes who dominated the councils on retirement, that should not be too hard. However, to invite the officers to join would be unusual. Maybe some kind of formalised 'observer' role with speaking rights?
What happens once the later empire puts on the squeeze? I guess commercial and political ties mean Hesperia goes with the Spanish and North African provinces? Would there be barbarian invasions here? The military, as a social institution, is well placed to receive them, and like in many border provinces I don't see there would be a problem with recruitment, hence no great loss of effectiveness. Do the barbarians integrate?
I look forward to reading more
Gilligan
It took a little time to get organized, they didn't have the Skipper, or the Scienctist, thro they did have the FEMALE tribesmen, to take Mary Ann & Gingers place.
We are talking squads of soldiers, along with retirees, there will only be One Legion worth total. Some were probally Greek axulliaries,
the oringal Mershants were Greek, and there remained a Greek influence.
It took a little time to get organized, they didn't have the Skipper, or the Scienctist, thro they did have the FEMALE tribesmen, to take Mary Ann & Gingers place.
We are talking squads of soldiers, along with retirees, there will only be One Legion worth total. Some were probally Greek axulliaries,
the oringal Mershants were Greek, and there remained a Greek influence.
"HESPERIA" Part three- Collapse
"HESPERIA" Part three- Collapse
In 402 An invasion by Alaric & his Visigoths forced the recall of the "Sixth Vistrix" legion from Britain & the "22nd Australis" from Hesperia. Due to the distance the 22nd didn't arrive in till a year later just in time to help defeat a second attack by the barbarian chieftain, Radagaisus. Neither of these Legions would ever return Home. While this would cause problems in Britain as waves of Goths, Jutes, & Saxons swept across Gaul into Britain & Iberia, two thing would help protect Hesperia.
One was distance, between the southern towns of [Morocco] and the northern towns of Hesperia lay two weeks of sail, with only a couple of small watering stops. The south road ended at the bottom of the Atlas Mountains, At the Town of Remus with the North road in Hesperia 800 desert miles away. With the Introduction of the Camel to north Africa in the early 4th century this would someday be bridged, but that lay several centuries in the future.
The second thing was the Citizen Legions*. While Hesperia never had to face the waves of hostile Barbarians, that Rome encountered in its expansion, Not all the Natives in Hesperia were Friendly. While the 22nd Australis was the only official legion in Hesperia, almost all the settlers were armed. They also were organized by retired soldiers, and lead and drilled by the professionals from the 22nd. As the settlements started pushing east & south in the late third & early fourth centuries, these Citizen Legions went with them.
In 425 the Visigoths and Vandals crossed the Gibraltar Straights and attacked Mauritania [every thing west of OTL Libya]. As they attacked the coastal towns, some few refugees fled south to Hesperia. This would be the last Influx of Europeans, for close to 600 yrs**. By 430 the Vandals had captured Carthage. Under this impact trade with Hesperia stopped. Over the next generation the Vandals would adopt Roman ways, this would include trade. By 450 Mauritania was again trading South, But due to the destruction along the coast [Morocco], and the general collapse of Europe, this never reached the pre 425 levels.
* Think More like the Minutemen Militia, combined with the National Guard, Not the same as the Real Legions.
*By this time Hesperia was mostly African in Appearance, thro slightly lighter than before Hesperia was founded.
"HESPERIA" Part three- Collapse
In 402 An invasion by Alaric & his Visigoths forced the recall of the "Sixth Vistrix" legion from Britain & the "22nd Australis" from Hesperia. Due to the distance the 22nd didn't arrive in till a year later just in time to help defeat a second attack by the barbarian chieftain, Radagaisus. Neither of these Legions would ever return Home. While this would cause problems in Britain as waves of Goths, Jutes, & Saxons swept across Gaul into Britain & Iberia, two thing would help protect Hesperia.
One was distance, between the southern towns of [Morocco] and the northern towns of Hesperia lay two weeks of sail, with only a couple of small watering stops. The south road ended at the bottom of the Atlas Mountains, At the Town of Remus with the North road in Hesperia 800 desert miles away. With the Introduction of the Camel to north Africa in the early 4th century this would someday be bridged, but that lay several centuries in the future.
The second thing was the Citizen Legions*. While Hesperia never had to face the waves of hostile Barbarians, that Rome encountered in its expansion, Not all the Natives in Hesperia were Friendly. While the 22nd Australis was the only official legion in Hesperia, almost all the settlers were armed. They also were organized by retired soldiers, and lead and drilled by the professionals from the 22nd. As the settlements started pushing east & south in the late third & early fourth centuries, these Citizen Legions went with them.
In 425 the Visigoths and Vandals crossed the Gibraltar Straights and attacked Mauritania [every thing west of OTL Libya]. As they attacked the coastal towns, some few refugees fled south to Hesperia. This would be the last Influx of Europeans, for close to 600 yrs**. By 430 the Vandals had captured Carthage. Under this impact trade with Hesperia stopped. Over the next generation the Vandals would adopt Roman ways, this would include trade. By 450 Mauritania was again trading South, But due to the destruction along the coast [Morocco], and the general collapse of Europe, this never reached the pre 425 levels.
* Think More like the Minutemen Militia, combined with the National Guard, Not the same as the Real Legions.
*By this time Hesperia was mostly African in Appearance, thro slightly lighter than before Hesperia was founded.
Damn you Duncan Mcloud!! Er, regular Duncan!! I was gonna make the tribesman crack!Duncan said:
Abdul Hadi Pasha
Banned
Doesn't the adjective have to match the gender of the noun? I'm not sure, but I think it would be "Roma Australia"
And why won't you just trust me that the Canary Islands were the Canaris Islands? Hmmm? Why?
I have to share concern about stationing a legion in Senegal; I don't see how this could happen - besides the logistical issues surrounding transporting an entire legion a horrendous distance, supplying it would be impossible, and they would all die of tropical diseases. I think perhaps you are moving too fast - Romans need to interbreed with natives in more hospitalbe climates, like the islands, probably with slave women gathered from the mainland - THEN the mainland is colonized. A Roman colony would be pretty safe on the islands, and few troops would be needed - mostly for slave raids and trade missions.
And why won't you just trust me that the Canary Islands were the Canaris Islands? Hmmm? Why?
I have to share concern about stationing a legion in Senegal; I don't see how this could happen - besides the logistical issues surrounding transporting an entire legion a horrendous distance, supplying it would be impossible, and they would all die of tropical diseases. I think perhaps you are moving too fast - Romans need to interbreed with natives in more hospitalbe climates, like the islands, probably with slave women gathered from the mainland - THEN the mainland is colonized. A Roman colony would be pretty safe on the islands, and few troops would be needed - mostly for slave raids and trade missions.
Because of all the other posters I got lambasting me for not beleiving that they were called the Fortune Islands.
Rome didn't just decide to send a legion to Hesperia, It was more couple squads to this camp, and several more to those camps, lots of them were near Retirees, and the like, It wasn't till a couple hundred years after the initial settlement, when Rome realized just what they had, that a Imperial Governor was sent and the whole thing brought more in line with Proper Beauracratic Procedures. Including orginizing the 22nd Australis Legion.
Babblefish dosen't include Latin as one of its choices, [Just because it's concidered by most to be a dead lanuage ] I was called by a Poster on AHWI about Roma De Sud [Sud being German] So I found a Latin tranlation program, Seems the Pharseing of the sentence has a lot to do with what word you use. I typed in Southern Rome, and got Dozen of choices back. I picked Australis, and I'm going to go with it. Absent some total reason to change.
I moved my traders from the Cape Verde Islands, The Islands lie 350~400 miles off the Coast [unlike the Canaris/Fortune Islands, which can be seen as land smudges on the Horizon from the Morrocan coast]. They have a terrible Climate, [outside tourist season] and not much resourses. The tropical Wine would not be enuff to generate the level of trade I needed.
Senagal with Gold, Silver, Ivory, & exotic woods. OTOH.......
From several Geographic site I got Info on Senagal's Climate. Coastal Senagal is not African jungle. It is part of the Sahel, The Broad hot dry Grasslands running from the Sudan west to the Atlantic, just south of the Sahara. The major deposits of Mineral wealth lie around the Cape Verde headed East. this is what will pull my Hesperians down the coast to where the Jungles of Guinia and Niger are. By that time they will have several hundred years of adaption.
Rome didn't just decide to send a legion to Hesperia, It was more couple squads to this camp, and several more to those camps, lots of them were near Retirees, and the like, It wasn't till a couple hundred years after the initial settlement, when Rome realized just what they had, that a Imperial Governor was sent and the whole thing brought more in line with Proper Beauracratic Procedures. Including orginizing the 22nd Australis Legion.
Babblefish dosen't include Latin as one of its choices, [Just because it's concidered by most to be a dead lanuage
] I was called by a Poster on AHWI about Roma De Sud [Sud being German] So I found a Latin tranlation program, Seems the Pharseing of the sentence has a lot to do with what word you use. I typed in Southern Rome, and got Dozen of choices back. I picked Australis, and I'm going to go with it. Absent some total reason to change.I moved my traders from the Cape Verde Islands, The Islands lie 350~400 miles off the Coast [unlike the Canaris/Fortune Islands, which can be seen as land smudges on the Horizon from the Morrocan coast]. They have a terrible Climate, [outside tourist season] and not much resourses. The tropical Wine would not be enuff to generate the level of trade I needed.
Senagal with Gold, Silver, Ivory, & exotic woods. OTOH.......
From several Geographic site I got Info on Senagal's Climate. Coastal Senagal is not African jungle. It is part of the Sahel, The Broad hot dry Grasslands running from the Sudan west to the Atlantic, just south of the Sahara. The major deposits of Mineral wealth lie around the Cape Verde headed East. this is what will pull my Hesperians down the coast to where the Jungles of Guinia and Niger are. By that time they will have several hundred years of adaption.
"HESPERIA" Part four- Isolation
"HESPERIA" Part four- Isolation
In the mid 4th cent. with the ongoing collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Rome started withdrawing it's troops from the outer Provinces. While this left places like Britain open to the German migration, Hesperia with it's Distance and lack of any mass of threatening natives, simply started to stagnate.
In 430 Hesperia received a wave of settlers fleeing the Vandal invasion of North Africa. After that it was close to 20 years before trade restarted, and never at the same level. This had terrible effects on the Mauritania towns. With the collapse of trade, the populations dropped, to self sufficentcy levels. There they would stagnate till Internal forces, restarted their growth.
In Hesperia the lose of contact was lots less terrible. While the Merchants were severely affected, most of the Population had long since lost interest in European contact. While the News and Gossip from Rome was interesting, that was all it was, Gossip. Most of the Towns had their own local Senates to control the town. In Roma Australis, There was a Imperial Governor, but Roma Australis also had it's Senate. Many of the local towns had for years sent representatives to the Roma Senate, to keep up with what the Capital was doing. Thus Hesperia had been governing itself for years with only slight input from the Imperial Court, back in Rome. Also while the settlers had adopted a few native words, mostly place names, the language spoken by Hesperia was Latin. In Europe the language had changed due to adapting to the native speakers, and the German migration. Even in Rome they spoke Proto-Italian, But in the outermost outpost there had been enough Immigrants to outnumber the Native, they still spoke Latin. **
In 430 A.D. when contact was lost, Hesperia consisted of a strip of land some 450 Roman Miles [1728 standard strides, 2.5 ft /stride] by 30~50 miles wide. Reaching 300 m north & 150 m south of Roma Australis. [cape Timiris--Gambia River)]. With a population of 75,000*, Hesperia was thrown on to it's own Resources
In 535 A.D. Krokatoa in the Pacific exploded hurling Megatons of Ash and Debris into the Stratosphere, Causing a small "Nuclear Winter" and changing weather patterns world wide. The British would suffer a famine leaving them open to the Saxon invasions, The great Yemen dam would collapse ending the Axum Empire, & leading to Mohammed and Islam. In Central America the Olmac Nation would disappear, opening the door for the Aztec's & Maya's. In Hesperia, There were Problems too. A local Plague dropped the population by ~20+%, down to 120,000*** and most of the outermost settlements were abandoned.
In Axum a mouse colony moved due to the climate change, the mice were carriers. By 542 the Yellow Death reached Constantinople, were the record stops at 250,000 deaths. Not that this was all, but the record keepers were all killed. The Plague spread across Europe & North Africa. Fortunally for Hesperia, the distance once again rescued them. In 1973 divers off western Sahara discovered a fleet of ships off the coast dated to 544 A.D. The Historians have concluded that they sank after the Yellow Plague had killed Most of the Crew/ Passengers.
One Industry Hesperia had never developed was Ocean Ship Building, and so contact with Europe again was lost. This time it would be a Over 500 years before formal contact with Europe was reestablished.
*In compare Britain had a population of about 750,000 at the time. Gaul- 5 mill, & Italy 6 mill, While the Sahel [ OTLs Sudan-Chad-Mali-Mauritania] had somewhere between 2-3 million.
** I'm thinking of the way English overpowered the native American aboriginal languages.
***At three surviving kids per family the population would double every other generations [50~60yrs] , Throw in Assimilation and you Have a easy fifty years /double
"HESPERIA" Part four- Isolation
In the mid 4th cent. with the ongoing collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Rome started withdrawing it's troops from the outer Provinces. While this left places like Britain open to the German migration, Hesperia with it's Distance and lack of any mass of threatening natives, simply started to stagnate.
In 430 Hesperia received a wave of settlers fleeing the Vandal invasion of North Africa. After that it was close to 20 years before trade restarted, and never at the same level. This had terrible effects on the Mauritania towns. With the collapse of trade, the populations dropped, to self sufficentcy levels. There they would stagnate till Internal forces, restarted their growth.
In Hesperia the lose of contact was lots less terrible. While the Merchants were severely affected, most of the Population had long since lost interest in European contact. While the News and Gossip from Rome was interesting, that was all it was, Gossip. Most of the Towns had their own local Senates to control the town. In Roma Australis, There was a Imperial Governor, but Roma Australis also had it's Senate. Many of the local towns had for years sent representatives to the Roma Senate, to keep up with what the Capital was doing. Thus Hesperia had been governing itself for years with only slight input from the Imperial Court, back in Rome. Also while the settlers had adopted a few native words, mostly place names, the language spoken by Hesperia was Latin. In Europe the language had changed due to adapting to the native speakers, and the German migration. Even in Rome they spoke Proto-Italian, But in the outermost outpost there had been enough Immigrants to outnumber the Native, they still spoke Latin. **
In 430 A.D. when contact was lost, Hesperia consisted of a strip of land some 450 Roman Miles [1728 standard strides, 2.5 ft /stride] by 30~50 miles wide. Reaching 300 m north & 150 m south of Roma Australis. [cape Timiris--Gambia River)]. With a population of 75,000*, Hesperia was thrown on to it's own Resources
In 535 A.D. Krokatoa in the Pacific exploded hurling Megatons of Ash and Debris into the Stratosphere, Causing a small "Nuclear Winter" and changing weather patterns world wide. The British would suffer a famine leaving them open to the Saxon invasions, The great Yemen dam would collapse ending the Axum Empire, & leading to Mohammed and Islam. In Central America the Olmac Nation would disappear, opening the door for the Aztec's & Maya's. In Hesperia, There were Problems too. A local Plague dropped the population by ~20+%, down to 120,000*** and most of the outermost settlements were abandoned.
In Axum a mouse colony moved due to the climate change, the mice were carriers. By 542 the Yellow Death reached Constantinople, were the record stops at 250,000 deaths. Not that this was all, but the record keepers were all killed. The Plague spread across Europe & North Africa. Fortunally for Hesperia, the distance once again rescued them. In 1973 divers off western Sahara discovered a fleet of ships off the coast dated to 544 A.D. The Historians have concluded that they sank after the Yellow Plague had killed Most of the Crew/ Passengers.
One Industry Hesperia had never developed was Ocean Ship Building, and so contact with Europe again was lost. This time it would be a Over 500 years before formal contact with Europe was reestablished.
*In compare Britain had a population of about 750,000 at the time. Gaul- 5 mill, & Italy 6 mill, While the Sahel [ OTLs Sudan-Chad-Mali-Mauritania] had somewhere between 2-3 million.
** I'm thinking of the way English overpowered the native American aboriginal languages.
***At three surviving kids per family the population would double every other generations [50~60yrs] , Throw in Assimilation and you Have a easy fifty years /double
DuQuense said:
Hmmm. Athanasian refugees on the run from Arian invaders? Or just a crowd of 'get the hell outta here, the barbarians are coming' folk? Either way, they have to be pretty brave to flee out to the farthest reaches of the empire when Egypt and Libya beckon. Family?
calling it 'Roma Australis' is a bit - presumptuous. The Roiman Empire didsn't generally go in for the later European habit of transferring names (New This, New That). I would expect a complicated name describing exactly what the place was 'Colonia Antonina Ara Australis Classicorum' ('Southern Antonine Colony of the Navy Troops' Sacred Precinct') or somesuch. This would then be reshaped into something more accomodating to local tongues - like 'Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium' became Cologne/Köln.
As to 'Latin' - I would expect the local population - at least the city dwellers - to speak Latin, but what kind of Latin would it be? Given that even in Italy - as everywhere else in the Empire - the language was transformed into something very different from out familiar Ciceronian diction as early as Cicero's time I would expect a Latin patois in use. The Roman Army was ablkew to maintain a remarkably uniform language in its ranks until the 4th century, to judge by documents, so the most likely branching-off point would be soldiers' Latin morphing into a more African language over time. THat is, unless there is a conscious effort on the part of the settlers to keep 'proper' Latin alive. Maybe a religious impulse? Christianisation rarely affects the language spoken by the people in that way, but if the church decides on a 'sacred language' that will as a result become enshrined and carefully preserved and taught. To this day nobody speaks better Latin than the Catholic clergy.
They depend on high seas trade for their survival, yet they never develop shipbuilding? Surely they have to have shipyards for repair and maintenance purposes. If they had Roman naval units, there was skilled personnel - the Romans would never have stood for anything as slipshod as a Navy base that could not do its own repairs. They may have a reason not to get back in contact - perhaps the plague? After an interval of 20 or 30 years the skills may have atrophied enough to make an ocean voyage perilous and rare, and of course there may be developments 'up north' that make going there unattractive. Hmmm. There's an Arian Visigothic kingdom in Spain, an Arian Vandal kingdom in Africa, and not much demand for luxury goods in either. A few journeys a year would be enough - not the scale great journeys are made of. But a complete loss of contact strikes me as very unrealistic. Even the Greenlanders kept in touch intermittently, and there were far fewer of those.
Do the Hesperians hear of Justinian's conquest of Vandal Africa? That should hearten them! How will they react when Islam comes in? Shut themselves off? What happens when the Muslims come out of the desert?
This is so cool
English had the preponderance of numbers and a well-established school system with 19th century levels of literacy and literature behind it. I doubt you can replicate that level of - success? - at earlier technological stages.
carlton_bach said:
That would make sense, having Athanasians flee the Vandals. After all, it was the death of a Pro-Athanasian Vandal King and his replacement with someone who wasn't tolerant of Athanasians that prompted Justinian to invade. If you do get an influx of such Orthodox Christians, Duquense, your Hesperian Church might not be as heretical as it was in the first draft. This could help smooth things over between them and the Catholics and Orthodox Churches.
carlton_bach said:
I'm inclined to agree. English had the advantage of the printing press by the time it was pushing around in non-English areas. The printing press seems to be very good at slowing down the change of a language.
Abdul Hadi Pasha
Banned
DuQuense said:
On the anal-retentive-from-hell front, it was gerbils, not mice.
Get the H out types,- as they were halfway down the {Morrocan} coast, eygpt is not in the cards.
The origninal Settlers Had a lot of Greeks - see how many Alexandrias were started , a couple of Romes.......
I read some where that a modern spainish can read 1200 spainish, a pole and a russian can understand each other with difficulty, and a ancient, medival, & modern Greek could quickly start understanding the other. Will there be some native words-Yes. Will there be vowel shifts [latin with a southern drawl] -Yes. But the latin of my Hesperian will be closer to Caesers latin than European medival latin was.
Gerbils
Islam is coming, I don't think my Butterflies are enuff to stop it, It happens unless there is a reason in the POD to Butterfly it. A settlement on the west coast of africa is not coming to affect Arabia that much. At least for quite a while.
There is a small boat Building industry, [fishing ] I realize this is a Weak point and plan to address this in a later post [part twenty-xx]
While European historians would look at it with a Eurocentric view and call it isolation, the Hesperians have a different Viewpoint, The trans Sahara trade mantained a third/forth hand trickle of contact. The Hesperians Simply didn't care. think of the early [1800] americans being isolated from Europe, how many common people would care.
The origninal Settlers Had a lot of Greeks - see how many Alexandrias were started , a couple of Romes.......
I read some where that a modern spainish can read 1200 spainish, a pole and a russian can understand each other with difficulty, and a ancient, medival, & modern Greek could quickly start understanding the other. Will there be some native words-Yes. Will there be vowel shifts [latin with a southern drawl] -Yes. But the latin of my Hesperian will be closer to Caesers latin than European medival latin was.
Gerbils Islam is coming, I don't think my Butterflies are enuff to stop it, It happens unless there is a reason in the POD to Butterfly it. A settlement on the west coast of africa is not coming to affect Arabia that much. At least for quite a while.
There is a small boat Building industry, [fishing ] I realize this is a Weak point and plan to address this in a later post [part twenty-xx]
While European historians would look at it with a Eurocentric view and call it isolation, the Hesperians have a different Viewpoint, The trans Sahara trade mantained a third/forth hand trickle of contact. The Hesperians Simply didn't care. think of the early [1800] americans being isolated from Europe, how many common people would care.
"HESPERIA" Part five- Interlude -OTL Info Dump
The single most important development in the history of northwestern Africa was the use of the camel as a transport vehicle.
In ancient times, the Egyptians and Carthaginian's engaged in just a trickle of commercial trade with west Africa, even though west Africa was rich in gold,
precious metals, ivory, and other resources. The reason for this was the imposing barrier of the Sahara, which in Arabic simply means "The Desert."
Around 750 AD, under the influence of Islamic peoples, northern and western Africans began to use the camel to transport goods across this forbidding terrain.
Camels do several things exceptionally well: they can carry unbelievably heavy loads for impossibly long distances and they can keep their footing on sandy terrain.
It was as if someone had invented sand ships and its effect on western African culture was just as profound as if they were sand ships.
The most important developments occurred in the Sahel area just south of the Sahara; the Sahel provided southern terminal points for the goods being shipped across the Sahara.
The Sahel is a dry, hot area with fertile areas and grasslands; all of the major north African kingdoms grew up in this area:
Ghana, Mali, Songhay, and Kanem-Bornu: the Sahelian kingdoms.
Since the Third Punic War, the Romans controlled all the coastline of northern Africa.
In the fourth century, however, the Romans gradually pulled out of their northern African provinces and territories.
The power vacuum that they left was filled by desert Berbers, an indigenous African people (Saint Augustine, born in Carthage, may have been part Berber).
The Berbers were primarily a nomadic people and would eventually play a crucial role in the spread of Islam across northern Africa.
In the fifth century, however, they formed a new kingdom, called Ghana or Awkar in an area that is now southeastern Mauritania.
This Berber kingdom would form the model from which all the Sahelian kingdoms would be built.
Although it originated in the late fourth century, Ghana only became a major regional power near the end of the millennium.
Although the state was originally formed by Berbers, it was built on the southern edge of Berber populations.
Eventually the state became dominated by the Soninke, a Mande speaking people living in the region bordering the Sahara.
They built their capital city, Kumbi Saleh, right on the edge of the Sahara
and the city quickly became the most dynamic and important southern terminus of the Saharan trade routes.
To Quote Ann Mc Dougall
"In Africa, regional variations of the most extreme kind--from desert to grassland to forest--meant both that natural resources varied widely according to region,
and that inter regional demand for commodities not locally available would be high. Hence, despite the importance of agriculture in the savanna zones,
commercial wealth would take priority over agrarian wealth.
While in medieval Europe, for example, the rise of trade sprang from agricultural productivity and then had to be incorporated deliberately into
the conceptual framework of a profoundly agrarian society, agriculture in Africa was only one player on the wider stage of the drama of trade in goods and resources.
Between Sudanic regions, mutual needs for commodities such as salt and metals were happily matched by a corresponding rich diversity of natural resources in different regions.
The salt of the desert, the copper of the savanna, and the gold of the forests did not eliminate trade in agricultural and pastoral goods,
but they certainly overshadowed it, at least in the historical record.
In the Sudan, the merchant was not seen as a menace to the traditional hierarchies of governmental authority; rather, he was the key to their remarkable growth and prosperity.
Trade in Africa did not threaten power structures. It sustained them."
"Nor did religion condemn trade outright; perhaps the Prophet Muhammad's own early success in business disposed his followers to a more accepting view
of trade from the beginnings of Islam.
In any case, merchants and clerics found common ground in medieval Africa. Legal opinions of north African jurists show that Muslim law sought to regulate, but not suppress,
commercial activities, and was concerned that stability and order should exist (even in non-Muslim realms) for the protection of Muslim merchants.
Finally, not only did merchants carry Islam across the desert and within the Sudan (the Wangara traders from Mali played an important role in this latter process),
but the religious class itself--whose members are termed the zawaya--produced some of the most successful and active merchants.
Clerical kin-groups within this order relied on their trading brethren for material blessings, while the latter benefited from the prayers and spiritual protection of the "men of religion."
The lives and economic interests of warriors, clerics, shepherds, and traders converged on the fringes of the Sahara;
every "order" of medieval African society in the regions with which we are concerned depended on trade for its very existence.
Accordingly, trade was readily accepted by the society it came to underpin and transform."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roman Soldiers had gone into the fringes of the Empire in order to Secure access to various commodities, Tin in Britain, Silver in the Balkans, ETC.
The Settlers and Merchants had followed. However in Hesperia the Merchants had been first, followed by the Settlers, and Lastly by the
Soldiers who followed to protect. As such the Merchant Class in Hesperia, had always been the real Power in the Province. The Merchants,
choose the Senators, from their own numbers, and had a separate council
to debate purely trade issues. [think Chamber of Commerce, here].
As such the Christian Church in Hesperia, from the beginning seeked to accommodate, the Merchants. And after contact with Rome and the Pope, was lost in 540,
It developed on this same path, accepting Trade, & Commerce as natural parts of the Social Order.
Hesperia, Founded by Merchants, had no real Problem Joining the trade network as it developed in the second half of the first millennium.
The single most important development in the history of northwestern Africa was the use of the camel as a transport vehicle.
In ancient times, the Egyptians and Carthaginian's engaged in just a trickle of commercial trade with west Africa, even though west Africa was rich in gold,
precious metals, ivory, and other resources. The reason for this was the imposing barrier of the Sahara, which in Arabic simply means "The Desert."
Around 750 AD, under the influence of Islamic peoples, northern and western Africans began to use the camel to transport goods across this forbidding terrain.
Camels do several things exceptionally well: they can carry unbelievably heavy loads for impossibly long distances and they can keep their footing on sandy terrain.
It was as if someone had invented sand ships and its effect on western African culture was just as profound as if they were sand ships.
The most important developments occurred in the Sahel area just south of the Sahara; the Sahel provided southern terminal points for the goods being shipped across the Sahara.
The Sahel is a dry, hot area with fertile areas and grasslands; all of the major north African kingdoms grew up in this area:
Ghana, Mali, Songhay, and Kanem-Bornu: the Sahelian kingdoms.
Since the Third Punic War, the Romans controlled all the coastline of northern Africa.
In the fourth century, however, the Romans gradually pulled out of their northern African provinces and territories.
The power vacuum that they left was filled by desert Berbers, an indigenous African people (Saint Augustine, born in Carthage, may have been part Berber).
The Berbers were primarily a nomadic people and would eventually play a crucial role in the spread of Islam across northern Africa.
In the fifth century, however, they formed a new kingdom, called Ghana or Awkar in an area that is now southeastern Mauritania.
This Berber kingdom would form the model from which all the Sahelian kingdoms would be built.
Although it originated in the late fourth century, Ghana only became a major regional power near the end of the millennium.
Although the state was originally formed by Berbers, it was built on the southern edge of Berber populations.
Eventually the state became dominated by the Soninke, a Mande speaking people living in the region bordering the Sahara.
They built their capital city, Kumbi Saleh, right on the edge of the Sahara
and the city quickly became the most dynamic and important southern terminus of the Saharan trade routes.
To Quote Ann Mc Dougall
"In Africa, regional variations of the most extreme kind--from desert to grassland to forest--meant both that natural resources varied widely according to region,
and that inter regional demand for commodities not locally available would be high. Hence, despite the importance of agriculture in the savanna zones,
commercial wealth would take priority over agrarian wealth.
While in medieval Europe, for example, the rise of trade sprang from agricultural productivity and then had to be incorporated deliberately into
the conceptual framework of a profoundly agrarian society, agriculture in Africa was only one player on the wider stage of the drama of trade in goods and resources.
Between Sudanic regions, mutual needs for commodities such as salt and metals were happily matched by a corresponding rich diversity of natural resources in different regions.
The salt of the desert, the copper of the savanna, and the gold of the forests did not eliminate trade in agricultural and pastoral goods,
but they certainly overshadowed it, at least in the historical record.
In the Sudan, the merchant was not seen as a menace to the traditional hierarchies of governmental authority; rather, he was the key to their remarkable growth and prosperity.
Trade in Africa did not threaten power structures. It sustained them."
"Nor did religion condemn trade outright; perhaps the Prophet Muhammad's own early success in business disposed his followers to a more accepting view
of trade from the beginnings of Islam.
In any case, merchants and clerics found common ground in medieval Africa. Legal opinions of north African jurists show that Muslim law sought to regulate, but not suppress,
commercial activities, and was concerned that stability and order should exist (even in non-Muslim realms) for the protection of Muslim merchants.
Finally, not only did merchants carry Islam across the desert and within the Sudan (the Wangara traders from Mali played an important role in this latter process),
but the religious class itself--whose members are termed the zawaya--produced some of the most successful and active merchants.
Clerical kin-groups within this order relied on their trading brethren for material blessings, while the latter benefited from the prayers and spiritual protection of the "men of religion."
The lives and economic interests of warriors, clerics, shepherds, and traders converged on the fringes of the Sahara;
every "order" of medieval African society in the regions with which we are concerned depended on trade for its very existence.
Accordingly, trade was readily accepted by the society it came to underpin and transform."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roman Soldiers had gone into the fringes of the Empire in order to Secure access to various commodities, Tin in Britain, Silver in the Balkans, ETC.
The Settlers and Merchants had followed. However in Hesperia the Merchants had been first, followed by the Settlers, and Lastly by the
Soldiers who followed to protect. As such the Merchant Class in Hesperia, had always been the real Power in the Province. The Merchants,
choose the Senators, from their own numbers, and had a separate council
to debate purely trade issues. [think Chamber of Commerce, here].
As such the Christian Church in Hesperia, from the beginning seeked to accommodate, the Merchants. And after contact with Rome and the Pope, was lost in 540,
It developed on this same path, accepting Trade, & Commerce as natural parts of the Social Order.
Hesperia, Founded by Merchants, had no real Problem Joining the trade network as it developed in the second half of the first millennium.
"HESPERIA" Part Six - Growth
"HESPERIA" Part Six - Growth
Hesperia started 50~40 B.C. as a string of supply camps for a trade route down the west coast of Africa. The Initial Population of the camps were Male Romans. This lead to lots of contact with the locals, especially with the female Part. This lead to increases in Population of the camps, and by 200 A.D. most of these camps had grown into small towns. The towns Had been laid out by soldiers in the Army fashion [like many of Europe's towns], with streets, walls, & of course Roads. By 430, when contact was first lost, the Great coast road reached 250 miles north of Roma Australis, and some 50 miles south. There also were short roads leading east into the Interior. As the towns had expanded into the interior, the Romans had more assimilated the natives, rather than conquer. As such while there had always been a trickle of Europeans, most of the growth had come from assimilation, from improved food, Roman Sanitation & Cleanness, Roman Medics, and the draining of Swamps.
Following the Great Plague of 538, where Hesperia lost close to 20% of her population, There was a common consensus that it had been the standards of Sanitation and Cleanliness, that had prevented it from being worse. This came out of the Observation that the Plaque was worse in the area were these weren't followed. This leads to a increased emphasis on them. While this wouldn't stop the Plague, certain Illness, like child bed fever, wound fever, Gangrene, & others, are greatly reduced.
These ideas helped the population rebound, so that by 600 most of the settlements abandoned after the Great Plague had been reclaimed. A half dozen towns in the north at the edge of the desert, were left empty. Hesperia contracted , so while Hesperia extended only 240 north of the Tiberian River, the Great Coast Road reached 60 miles farther north. The land returned to nature peopled by outlaws, bandits and other "ne'er do wells" . It would be another 400 years before these towns would be reclaimed and Fortified, as defense in war.
Shortly before the Plague and the need to rebuild, Hesperia was exploring and settling the Senegal Gambia Rivers, by 612 Hesperia was back , and starting to explore up them, as they reclaimed the settlements abandoned due to the plague. They had also repaired the Coast Road, and were prepared to push south again. The next couple of centuries is a story of slow and steady growth, South along the Coast, and Up the Rivers as they came to them. By 800 they reached the headwaters of the Senagal & Gambia, and had a string of towns between them.
From almost the beginning Hesperia like Britain , had a solid core of Army Engineers and Architects, helping to build Roads, Buildings, & other Engineering, in the Roman style. But unlike Britain, Hesperia didn't lose them all to collapse & invasions. Therefore while the Roads are not quite like the original Roman built, They are better than any roads being built west of Cathay, and unlike Europe the Roads and other Engineering, were still being built.
As Hesperia started recovering from the Plague, It would be trade between the towns, that drove the recovery. And it would be trade with the natives farther along the Coast that would draw Hesperia Southward.
Hesperia started 50~40 B.C. as a string of supply camps for a trade route down the west coast of Africa. The Initial Population of the camps were Male Romans. This lead to lots of contact with the locals, especially with the female Part. This lead to increases in Population of the camps, and by 200 A.D. most of these camps had grown into small towns. The towns Had been laid out by soldiers in the Army fashion [like many of Europe's towns], with streets, walls, & of course Roads. By 430, when contact was first lost, the Great coast road reached 250 miles north of Roma Australis, and some 50 miles south. There also were short roads leading east into the Interior. As the towns had expanded into the interior, the Romans had more assimilated the natives, rather than conquer. As such while there had always been a trickle of Europeans, most of the growth had come from assimilation, from improved food, Roman Sanitation & Cleanness, Roman Medics, and the draining of Swamps.
Following the Great Plague of 538, where Hesperia lost close to 20% of her population, There was a common consensus that it had been the standards of Sanitation and Cleanliness, that had prevented it from being worse. This came out of the Observation that the Plaque was worse in the area were these weren't followed. This leads to a increased emphasis on them. While this wouldn't stop the Plague, certain Illness, like child bed fever, wound fever, Gangrene, & others, are greatly reduced.
These ideas helped the population rebound, so that by 600 most of the settlements abandoned after the Great Plague had been reclaimed. A half dozen towns in the north at the edge of the desert, were left empty. Hesperia contracted , so while Hesperia extended only 240 north of the Tiberian River, the Great Coast Road reached 60 miles farther north. The land returned to nature peopled by outlaws, bandits and other "ne'er do wells" . It would be another 400 years before these towns would be reclaimed and Fortified, as defense in war.
Shortly before the Plague and the need to rebuild, Hesperia was exploring and settling the Senegal Gambia Rivers, by 612 Hesperia was back , and starting to explore up them, as they reclaimed the settlements abandoned due to the plague. They had also repaired the Coast Road, and were prepared to push south again. The next couple of centuries is a story of slow and steady growth, South along the Coast, and Up the Rivers as they came to them. By 800 they reached the headwaters of the Senagal & Gambia, and had a string of towns between them.
From almost the beginning Hesperia like Britain , had a solid core of Army Engineers and Architects, helping to build Roads, Buildings, & other Engineering, in the Roman style. But unlike Britain, Hesperia didn't lose them all to collapse & invasions. Therefore while the Roads are not quite like the original Roman built, They are better than any roads being built west of Cathay, and unlike Europe the Roads and other Engineering, were still being built.
As Hesperia started recovering from the Plague, It would be trade between the towns, that drove the recovery. And it would be trade with the natives farther along the Coast that would draw Hesperia Southward.
"HESPERIA" Part Six - Growth
Hesperia started 50~40 B.C. as a string of supply camps for a trade route down the west coast of Africa. The Initial Population of the camps were Male Romans. This lead to lots of contact with the locals, especially with the female Part. This lead to increases in Population of the camps, and by 200 A.D. most of these camps had grown into small towns. The towns Had been laid out by soldiers in the Army fashion [like many of Europe's towns], with streets, walls, & of course Roads. By 430, when contact was first lost, the Great coast road reached 250 miles north of Roma Australis, and some 50 miles south. There also were short roads leading east into the Interior. As the towns had expanded into the interior, the Romans had more assimilated the natives, rather than conquer. As such while there had always been a trickle of Europeans, most of the growth had come from assimilation, from improved food, Roman Sanitation & Cleanness, Roman Medics, and the draining of Swamps.
Following the Great Plague of 538, where Hesperia lost close to 20% of her population, There was a common consensus that it had been the standards of Sanitation and Cleanliness, that had prevented it from being worse. This came out of the Observation that the Plaque was worse in the area were these weren't followed. This leads to a increased emphasis on them. While this wouldn't stop the Plague, certain Illness, like child bed fever, wound fever, Gangrene, & others, are greatly reduced.
These ideas helped the population rebound, so that by 600 most of the settlements abandoned after the Great Plague had been reclaimed. A half dozen towns in the north at the edge of the desert, were left empty. Hesperia contracted , so while Hesperia extended only 240 north of the Tiberian River, the Great Coast Road reached 60 miles farther north. The land returned to nature peopled by outlaws, bandits and other "ne'er do wells" . It would be another 400 years before these towns would be reclaimed and Fortified, as defense in war.
Shortly before the Plague and the need to rebuild, Hesperia was exploring and settling the Senegal Gambia Rivers, by 612 Hesperia was back , and starting to explore up them, as they reclaimed the settlements abandoned due to the plague. They had also repaired the Coast Road, and were prepared to push south again. The next couple of centuries is a story of slow and steady growth, South along the Coast, and Up the Rivers as they came to them. By 800 they reached the headwaters of the Senagal & Gambia, and had a string of towns between them.
From almost the beginning Hesperia like Britain , had a solid core of Army Engineers and Architects, helping to build Roads, Buildings, & other Engineering, in the Roman style. But unlike Britain, Hesperia didn't lose them all to collapse & invasions. Therefore while the Roads are not quite like the original Roman built, They are better than any roads being built west of Cathay, and unlike Europe the Roads and other Engineering, were still being built.
As Hesperia started recovering from the Plague, It would be trade between the towns, that drove the recovery. And it would be trade with the natives farther along the Coast that would draw Hesperia Southward.
Hesperia started 50~40 B.C. as a string of supply camps for a trade route down the west coast of Africa. The Initial Population of the camps were Male Romans. This lead to lots of contact with the locals, especially with the female Part. This lead to increases in Population of the camps, and by 200 A.D. most of these camps had grown into small towns. The towns Had been laid out by soldiers in the Army fashion [like many of Europe's towns], with streets, walls, & of course Roads. By 430, when contact was first lost, the Great coast road reached 250 miles north of Roma Australis, and some 50 miles south. There also were short roads leading east into the Interior. As the towns had expanded into the interior, the Romans had more assimilated the natives, rather than conquer. As such while there had always been a trickle of Europeans, most of the growth had come from assimilation, from improved food, Roman Sanitation & Cleanness, Roman Medics, and the draining of Swamps.
Following the Great Plague of 538, where Hesperia lost close to 20% of her population, There was a common consensus that it had been the standards of Sanitation and Cleanliness, that had prevented it from being worse. This came out of the Observation that the Plaque was worse in the area were these weren't followed. This leads to a increased emphasis on them. While this wouldn't stop the Plague, certain Illness, like child bed fever, wound fever, Gangrene, & others, are greatly reduced.
These ideas helped the population rebound, so that by 600 most of the settlements abandoned after the Great Plague had been reclaimed. A half dozen towns in the north at the edge of the desert, were left empty. Hesperia contracted , so while Hesperia extended only 240 north of the Tiberian River, the Great Coast Road reached 60 miles farther north. The land returned to nature peopled by outlaws, bandits and other "ne'er do wells" . It would be another 400 years before these towns would be reclaimed and Fortified, as defense in war.
Shortly before the Plague and the need to rebuild, Hesperia was exploring and settling the Senegal Gambia Rivers, by 612 Hesperia was back , and starting to explore up them, as they reclaimed the settlements abandoned due to the plague. They had also repaired the Coast Road, and were prepared to push south again. The next couple of centuries is a story of slow and steady growth, South along the Coast, and Up the Rivers as they came to them. By 800 they reached the headwaters of the Senagal & Gambia, and had a string of towns between them.
From almost the beginning Hesperia like Britain , had a solid core of Army Engineers and Architects, helping to build Roads, Buildings, & other Engineering, in the Roman style. But unlike Britain, Hesperia didn't lose them all to collapse & invasions. Therefore while the Roads are not quite like the original Roman built, They are better than any roads being built west of Cathay, and unlike Europe the Roads and other Engineering, were still being built.
As Hesperia started recovering from the Plague, It would be trade between the towns, that drove the recovery. And it would be trade with the natives farther along the Coast that would draw Hesperia Southward.