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One thing about Dacia was that not only was there plenty on loot on offer, but the locals were taxable to the point being able to pay for the garrison. If a new legion needs to be raised, can Mauretania be taxed enough to pay for it? If the situation is obviously more gold out than in then when...

Never say that one should be organised. Merely pointed out that it was the most credible option.

The reasons why the West ripped off the Middle East over its oil was 1) the West had the technology and the Middle East did not 2) the West had the distribution network and the Middle East did not and 3) until the 70s the Americans were self sufficient. Now the British could try to muscle into...

It was suspected, hence the Turkish Petroleum Company, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Petroleum_Company The problem for Ottomans is that on OTL the West successfully ripped off the Middle East when it came to profits from oil. Well, up until circum 1970. I see no reason why that should...

Compared with Armenia Arabia is flat and has very little water. For the first, think Carrhae. For the second think Hattim (Yes, I know the Romans weren't there but there was not a lot of wells either.) Fleets cost money. What are the Romans not going to build/maintain in order to construct a...

I am sure that Germany would be able to come to some arrangement with the Ottomans such as oil concessions, a naval base in Basra and if they are sitting on it, a share in the Suez Canal.

The problems with North Africa is a lack of rivers and the sea communications would be via the Atlantic.The Romans preferred to be able to supply garrisons by water. It is easier to to that than either rely on local agriculture or wagon train. Arabia via the Red Sea is a little better, but the...

I guess that it is easier to shoehorn existing history into a different TL than come up with new ideas.

But they only had a few Celtic monks to worry about. Not the USN landing on them like a ton of bricks.

It is clear from the Pod that this is a VoC colony. Therefore, it would be run on the same principles as the Cape colony was on OTL. The VoC were unscrupulous control freaks. They would not have allowed large numbers of renegades to set up shop on their border.

Asians could cut the same deal with Australians as OTL Europeans cut with Africans in the nineteenth century. "You can sign this treaty that we are taking over your country or we can conquer you. Your choice." Alternatively, they can do who OTL Americans did and just run them out.

The maximum manpower a nation was in an article that I read years ago 40% of population. The 60% are all the females plus any males not of military age, ie the kids and ancient ones. A European medieval nation is going to exclude most of the clergy from this. Some males of military age are also...

Not in the board game "Britannia" they don't. :) The Romano Brits last as long as the Angles and Saxons cannot be bothered to squash them. No chance of "changing sides." In some respects that would make sense; towns occupied by Angles and Saxons retain their Roman name. On the other hand in the...

Is speed that important? Donkeys are ridden beasts of burden and they are not that fast. The advantage of using them is that the rider no longer needs to walk. The catch is that woodland caribou live in forests and wetlands. No exactly good country for riding through. In contrast, horse riding...

Did/do the Aborigines hunt brumbies? If they did/do not then it would appear that they have no direct contact with them to the point that they might tame/domesticate them.

Nothing that you can not get a few hundred miles to the south. For the Norse to get there they will have to sail/row up along way up the Mississippi. And when they get there they can trade for maize, beans and copper.

Whilst the Norse were great traders they did not exactly open up new markets. Whilst they could push along the coast to Mesoamerica, it is into the unknown. Also, bear in mind the chain of settlements is going to tie up a lot of manpower. Most better to think of the Norse as farmers looking for...

Exactly. Greenland had too small a population to build its own ships and it was too poor to import them.

Actually, Greenland did have wood in the form of small birches as well as some driftwood. So yes, they did build out of sod. Besides the Norse could sail to Markland and cut wood there. The problem here is the limited number of ships most of which are foreign owned. These are more likely to...

You look at the sort of work that slaves were doing and it is comparable to that done in Victorian England under similar conditions. This of course is obvious, but does raise an interesting question. Do you want your labour force to be capital or expenditure? The advantage of the former is you...