Recent content by GeneralBoomstick

  1. Wi: money was never invented?

    After all of our needs are reasonably met. Once civilization develops enough sophistication where survival is more or less ensured, then resources can be devoted to wants/desires. This is where currency really begins to become necessary. Before this point, I think civilization can still become...
  2. Wi: money was never invented?

    The incan economy isn't an outlier, it is a primitive economy. We can see the same sort of thing happening in early mesopotamian civilizations. Akkad built its empire on controlling food distribution, not military domination (such a thing was not possible in that period). Food basically was...
  3. AHC - Save the British Motorcycle Industry

    Those seemed to be pretty good models, maybe if they were just made to be more comfortable for longer rides it might be better. Though, if the industry collapsed along with a lot of other industries, then it might not be a problem with the industry itself, but rather an underlying problem with...
  4. Everything On this map and more gets owned by one man

    Assuming this is dynastically possible, there'd still be plenty of succession wars and foreign (Papal) interference as well that would have to be dealt with.
  5. Everything On this map and more gets owned by one man

    If he gets Swabia and Aquileia as well, then he is the empire. Though given the time, I'm not sure it would make a difference because I'm doubtful that it could be administered by one man effectively. It would probably have to be broken up into seperate parts.
  6. How Terrifying is it to fend off elite heavy cavalry (such as Knights,Samurai,dragoons) with Spears?

    It would certainly be terrifying, but a cavalry charge straight into a line of spear/pikemen or what have you isn't a terribly intelligent decision even with shock cavalry as you're going to take a lot of losses (many historical examples of it succeeding though), but it's typically better to...
  7. AHC - Save the British Motorcycle Industry

    How popular was motorcycling in Britain? If there wasn't that large of a domestic demand then I am not surprised that it didn't survive because I'm not sure how well a British motorcycle company would be able to work it's way into other markets. I know that motorcycles were popular among GI's in...
  8. Earlier Canning

    Problem is, there were other methods of preservation before canning that were quite sufficient for most purposes: salting, pickling, jugging, etc. Canning seemed to be useful for long sea voyages and military purposes when it was originally pioneered. I'm sure it is possible to bring about...
  9. AHC/WI: Delay/ slow down British economic decline post 1870

    Britain's economy was changing at this time from an export oriented trade economy to an investment and financial economy. Importation of raw materials, increased wages, transportation costs, and tariffs made it much more difficult for British industry to compete with domestic markets around the...
  10. How predetermined was Prussian military excellence?

    Not really predetermined or lucky I'd say. They just made the best out of the opportunities presented. The core state of Brandenburg got thoroughly wrecked during the 30 years war which allowed Brandenburg to be rebuilt from the ground up, thus consolidating power into a more centralised system...
  11. Plausibility Check: A German Purchase of Either Luxembourg or Suwalki Governorate?

    Prussia defeated Austria and its allies much quicker, and they were certainly no pushovers. But yes, France being defeated so handily was a quite a surprise, though no one was willing to come to France's aid. Bismarck is to thank for that, as well as all the trouble that Prussia got up to during...
  12. Plausibility Check: A German Purchase of Either Luxembourg or Suwalki Governorate?

    Except apparently when Prussia took a giant dump all over the balance of power during the 1860's. There has to be a reason for this otherwise that whole Britain must maintain the balance of power rhetoric is all just a bunch of malarkey.
  13. Plausibility Check: A German Purchase of Either Luxembourg or Suwalki Governorate?

    Massive army. As long as it stays that way, it is no threat to Britain no matter how large it is.
  14. Plausibility Check: A German Purchase of Either Luxembourg or Suwalki Governorate?

    Considering that Britain didn't do squat when Prussia annexed the entirety of Hanover, cleved off a large chunk of Denmark, and crushed Austria, I'm dubious about the claim that they were worried about Britain's opinion at the time. Britain is not the boogeyman than looms over the continent that...
  15. Where was most of the US industrial capacity during World War 2?

    Most of the world's iron ore came from the iron range in Minnesota during that period too. This was largely due to the literal mountains of high grade iron ore and remained such a larger portion of the world's production until the hematite ran out.
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