Glen
Moderator
I don't doubt they could adapt Euro technology and improve upon it, much like they had anything else they came into contact with from Europeans. (That's partly why they became such legendary ironworkers for example.) I have a hard time imagining a POD where they remain independent, as much as I'd like to see it. Or have a big enough population for an industrial base for it.
Think earlier contact with the Old World, slower exchange between the two, and more aggressive adoption of Western technologies and methods.