AHC: The Fens were never drained

I'm thinking of writing a story set in the Fens, which is on my doorstep. I have an idea sketched out in my head, but the premise is that the Fens were never drained, and so a pocket of wilderness exists in England where strange things happen, and all manner of unsavoury figures cloister in its moist climate. This state of affairs needs to continue until the present day. But would it be possible to put a halt to attempts to drain the Fens, and what do you think would be the consequences of this.
 
I'm thinking of writing a story set in the Fens, which is on my doorstep. I have an idea sketched out in my head, but the premise is that the Fens were never drained, and so a pocket of wilderness exists in England where strange things happen, and all manner of unsavoury figures cloister in its moist climate. This state of affairs needs to continue until the present day. But would it be possible to put a halt to attempts to drain the Fens, and what do you think would be the consequences of this.

Keep Britain in the Dark Ages. It's really really difficult because people had been draining the Fens as far back as the Romans. While the really big schemes had to wait until after 1630 the Fens had been eaten away at for centuries and as Britain got richer and technology advanced the pace was only going to increase.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Maybe go with some really powerful, swamp illness. If the Fens had the lethality of the Congo's malaria, it might be ignored. Don't think malaria is quite the answer, since it would spread all over Europe, at least this strain, but there probably is some way to have an illness slow it down a good bit.

Or if you can live with a small area, why not have it as a royal hunting reserve. If the kings took enough interests, they could probably greatly slow development.
 
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