AHC: Mughal Empire and/or Maratha Confederacy pulls a Meiji

First of all, “pulling a Meiji” as shorthand for “improving technology to Western standards” needs to die. The specific circumstances present in Japan that allowed them to rapidly industrialize weren’t present anywhere else.

Second of all, the Marathas probably have a better shot at this than the Mughals given that the latter had already collapsed by the time early industrial machines started to be invented.

Having them take Bengal and its large coal reserves before the British can seize it would be a great help, but they’ll have to refrain from the massacres they committed there IOTL or they won’t be able to hold it for long. (In fact, they seem from what I can tell to have been generally quite bloodthirsty, often committing massacres and sacks against their enemies; scaling back on those tendencies might make it harder for European “divide and conquer” strategies to work against them.)

And their weaponry was already pretty close to the European standard of the time, actually; if they can somehow secure consistent supplies of things like saltpeter for it, they’ll have a much better chance of keeping that parity. That will also help them use those weapons more often for training purposes, ensuring that their army and navy know how to use the latest designs.
 
First of all, “pulling a Meiji” as shorthand for “improving technology to Western standards” needs to die. The specific circumstances present in Japan that allowed them to rapidly industrialize weren’t present anywhere else.

Second of all, the Marathas probably have a better shot at this than the Mughals given that the latter had already collapsed by the time early industrial machines started to be invented.

Having them take Bengal and its large coal reserves before the British can seize it would be a great help, but they’ll have to refrain from the massacres they committed there IOTL or they won’t be able to hold it for long. (In fact, they seem from what I can tell to have been generally quite bloodthirsty, often committing massacres and sacks against their enemies; scaling back on those tendencies might make it harder for European “divide and conquer” strategies to work against them.)

And their weaponry was already pretty close to the European standard of the time, actually; if they can somehow secure consistent supplies of things like saltpeter for it, they’ll have a much better chance of keeping that parity. That will also help them use those weapons more often for training purposes, ensuring that their army and navy know how to use the latest designs.
Do you think the Maratha will be able kick out Europeans out of India by 1850?

If Maratha survives and actually industrializes, i could see it getting a few small ports in the Scramble for Africa.
 
Do you think the Maratha will be able kick out Europeans out of India by 1850?

If Maratha survives and actually industrializes, i could see it getting a few small ports in the Scramble for Africa.
Eh, if they grab Bengal and limit the Brits to a few trading ports like the Portuguese had, then there will be no real need to “kick out” anyone. The Europeans are useful trading partners, especially if they’re industrializing at a rapid pace. And yeah, I don’t see a grab at East Africa (maybe Zanzibar if they take it from the Omanis, or Somalia) as being entirely out of the question.
 
What is the best way for the Mughal Empire and/or Maratha Confederacy to industrialize, modernize, and to a certain extent westernize (like what Imperial Japan did)?

Pulling a Meiji, disagreements aside, requires the Mughals change and not devolve into having the same issues as your typical Muslim Indian Empire, problems with governors and just too much land in general. Many states and dynasties in India got their starts from being breakaway governors, if the Mughals can keep them in line, then I do not see why industrialization at someone point or another would be that hard.
 

raharris1973

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When were people able to start effectively mining coal in Bengal's high water table environment anyway?
 
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