Speculation: I was reading about the Hansa league the other day. And what caught my attention was their war against King Valdemar IV of Denmark, which went quite well for them. In 1368 they captured Copenhagen and forced the King to flee. He appointed Henning Podebusk to negotiate, and Podebusk got what seems like a good deal for the King, enabling him to return.
So, what if Valdemar appoints a less skilled negotiator ?
Valdemar lives and dies in exile and the Hansas star rises further, with the addition of the straights. It is also a westward shift in the league power. Denmark is weakened, and several cities may become factories for the Hansa, eventually Hansa cities themselves.
Down the line, Colombus, with his unique combination of drive, stubbornness and geographical ineptitude is butterflied. But the processes that drove Portuguese traders to Brazil and fishermen from the Basque and Bristol to the Grand Banks keep going. Salt fish was the backbone of Hansa wealth, and we have a strengthened Hansa league growing in the North Atlantic. At this point the Hansa may, if things have gone somewhat their way since Valdemar, have a fairly stable setup in northern Europe. They may be interested in expansion opportunities elsewhere, and they have the best shipping tech going.
We could see Hansa cities growing in North America, starting on Newfoundland. The entire thing since the 1360s would also certainly butterfly Martin Luther and the reformation, meaning that the salt fish trade remains important and hugely profitable, leading to a longer period of prominence for the league.
But what really caught my fancy was further exploration down the coast of North America, possibly meeting the Portuguese coming the other way and encountering the gold-rich Mesoamericans, leading to trading posts and cities in the Caribbean.
This has some fascinating effects on the Americas. Old world diseases spread from the population-dense Amazon civilization(s) and the sparsely populated Newfoundland rather than starting in the Mesoamerican heartland. Epidemics will come to the Mesoamericans from the edges of their empires and sweep inwards rather than start near the capitals. There will be a grace period between the disease and the coming of the Europeans, rather than having nutters with guns, foaming at the moth with gold fever, following immediately on the plagues.
And rather than the conquistadors model of colonization, we get the trading-city model, something closer to the Phoenicians practice.
I am just brainstorming here, what do you think?
So, what if Valdemar appoints a less skilled negotiator ?
Valdemar lives and dies in exile and the Hansas star rises further, with the addition of the straights. It is also a westward shift in the league power. Denmark is weakened, and several cities may become factories for the Hansa, eventually Hansa cities themselves.
Down the line, Colombus, with his unique combination of drive, stubbornness and geographical ineptitude is butterflied. But the processes that drove Portuguese traders to Brazil and fishermen from the Basque and Bristol to the Grand Banks keep going. Salt fish was the backbone of Hansa wealth, and we have a strengthened Hansa league growing in the North Atlantic. At this point the Hansa may, if things have gone somewhat their way since Valdemar, have a fairly stable setup in northern Europe. They may be interested in expansion opportunities elsewhere, and they have the best shipping tech going.
We could see Hansa cities growing in North America, starting on Newfoundland. The entire thing since the 1360s would also certainly butterfly Martin Luther and the reformation, meaning that the salt fish trade remains important and hugely profitable, leading to a longer period of prominence for the league.
But what really caught my fancy was further exploration down the coast of North America, possibly meeting the Portuguese coming the other way and encountering the gold-rich Mesoamericans, leading to trading posts and cities in the Caribbean.
This has some fascinating effects on the Americas. Old world diseases spread from the population-dense Amazon civilization(s) and the sparsely populated Newfoundland rather than starting in the Mesoamerican heartland. Epidemics will come to the Mesoamericans from the edges of their empires and sweep inwards rather than start near the capitals. There will be a grace period between the disease and the coming of the Europeans, rather than having nutters with guns, foaming at the moth with gold fever, following immediately on the plagues.
And rather than the conquistadors model of colonization, we get the trading-city model, something closer to the Phoenicians practice.
I am just brainstorming here, what do you think?
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