Please write the TL?
While the base idea is possible IMHO, and I would truly love to see the resultant TL, here's some information from the web regarding it.
First ever steam power (AFAIK)
http://www.dimdima.com/science/science_common/show_science.asp?q_aid=156&q_title=The+First+Steam+Engine...
S. Africa would likely be well defended too, unfortunately.
N. Australia makes sense, but I couldn't see how it would take off from there (1800 is a little too recent for my hobbies :) )
However, back on the Americas front for minute...
Suppose the point of aggravation was in the Chinese...
Hmm
of the 1500 ships she had (which was larger than the chinese navy of the time) some were fast interceptors, but most were actually captured merchant vessels that she later armed and used as heavies.
Against an assembled British fleet, she'd be toast - but like you say, the time is...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/worklife/08/27/woman.pirate/index.html
Good background there on the subject at hand.
Curious question -- what if, instead of negotiating an amnesty, she had decided to simply sail away?
Points of arrival:
West coast of N. America in 1811 (but why?)...
Did I have my times wrong??
I thought the Scotii came from Ireland and established the Kingdom of Albion?
Then let Pict refugees come stay south of them, between them and Celts, around 30AD...
Then the Romans entered the scene around 43AD...
Am I wrong?
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*I* Don't have a problem with what exactly Scotland is pre-Norman.
I look to the Irish Scotii and their shift east to modern day Scotland and say "There's your Scottish!"
I also think that a Roman ally Albion could work with Rome ~30-50AD and end up in control of a Romanized...
Actually, they liked horses quite a lot... but they weren't plentiful yet.
They thought of them as 'divine' possibly... but horses weren't numerous for another 100 years or so after the peak of Iroquois civilization (OTL)
Although the thought occurs to me - Iroquois might not embrace horse...
Uhm. If I can make a suggestion that I don't *think* has too many butterflies (that can't be waved away) or too much ASB in the mix...
~35-40AD, The Albiones send emissaries to Roman Gaul and diplomatically convince the Romans to conquer Britain south of Albion to "settle the barbarians'...
Huh - maybe I'm sleepy or something (it's a bit late) but, um,...
Are we making a mountain out of a mole hill, ie overcomplicating the technology required?
Let's take the concept of putting a satellite in orbit first.
We do it with a rocket launch and some carefully precalculated...
1) Cows do fine w/o humans.
Longhorns in Montana.
Wild Jersey cows in New England.
Montana weather - negative 60F for weeks, 10s of feet of snow?
Pigs are even more viable with humans -- they fit into human shelters.
And didn't Norse have goats? They'd rock in the new world.
2) To clarify...
Erik wasn't the first to Greenland was he? and I've seen other references to 'Skraelings' in Greenland, but it's almost as elusive as the Christians in Iceland that yielded to the first Vikings there.
We're talking fishing boat desires, not open sea/deep water capable ships. Although I object...
Umm you want the ATL to do in-flight orbital mechanic calculations for delta-vee manuevers to control orbits on clockwork computers ??
Rather than judge your intelligence, I would prefer to ask you to clarify clockwork computers??? Is that like whats-his-names machine, that first programmable...
oddly, I can't find any adequate references to viking fishing technology at 1000AD or so. It's there, I just can't find it :(
But consider the NA are still in their late stone age. The Norse are in their early IRON age. Iron fishing hooks vs bone hooks. Better boats for offshore, as you noted...
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You used the word 'Impossible' on AH???
Guessing is not only not impossible here, but quite likely ineveitable.
Betsy Ross fits your description.
She doesn't wash her face on a certain, famous day, resulting in certain smears.
Resulting in a disgust on the part of certain...
Err...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skr%C3%A6ling
Why is the placing of sails on a boat a harder technology to learn?
I would think metallurgy would be harder to learn.
Perhaps the textile industry to *make* a sail, but actually using one? I learned how to windsurf in less than a week...