Is there a way for the European Age of Exploration to be at least delayed for 200 years would a No Black Plague and No Mongols scenario help?
No Black Plague and No Mongols scenario help?
Oh yeah. Well, the main point is there had to be a free passage between Europe and Asia. It can't be stopped altogether though. Soon people will think about more profitable ways for trade.
Could there be a different motivation that would let to the discovery of the Americas?
With a growing European population, Europeans look to the sea for sustenance. As diminishing returns strike one area (sure, with weirs one can trap a lot of fish, but they take a big hit in production with time), there comes a big push to fish in pristine waters. In OTL conditions the New World was very likely to be discovered sometime in the 16th century due to ever more distant fishing trips. Keeping the population high and somewhat constant doesn't strike me as moving further away from that tendency.would a No Black Plague and No Mongols scenario help?