AH Challenge: Reverse European Colonization.

Get some portion of the world that is not part of Europe to become the focal point for all of the colonial powers, just like Europe IOTL.
 
Nowhere else had the particular combination of Atlantic access (and therefore both New World and West African access) and being locked out of Islamic trade by Mamluks and middlemen.

Like, Asia and the Near East and East Africa had a pretty good gig going, no colonies necessary, before Portugal showed up. Portugal even sent recon to learn about these networks and their nodes, and used their navigators to get to India from East Africa.
 
Nowhere else had the particular combination of Atlantic access (and therefore both New World and West African access) and being locked out of Islamic trade by Mamluks and middlemen.

Like, Asia and the Near East and East Africa had a pretty good gig going, no colonies necessary, before Portugal showed up. Portugal even sent recon to learn about these networks and their nodes, and used their navigators to get to India from East Africa.
Good point,, but o reverse European dominance, one would have to butterfly those factors in the first place.
 
I don't think you can reverse geography. The only thing I can think of is No Islam, and even then its not as if the Indians would be shut out given the spice trade.

Europe had a unique combo of Muslim-influenced Atlantic powers in Iberia, tech, rudimentary knowledge of Indies, a total lack of native luxury goods, and a market situation that made these Atlantic powers beholden to the Muslims and Italians.

No other region was both knowledgeable of trade and shut out of it. This material contradiction provided the impetus for maritime colonization.

My one caveat would be that there was mercantile exodus: the Tamils and Chinese could definitely have maritime empires in SEA. But outright colonization, in all its theaters and forms, is another kettle of fish.
 
Top